Innocent Atrocities
by Gin van Geovanni
Summary: All Haseo wanted to do was enjoy Halloween but in his world nothing is quite as normal as it should be. Warning: shonen-ai, and pretty boys in TINY MINISKIRTS!
1. Chapter 1

Okay who neglected to tell me that Clear Blue Sky ended up being chapter one of this story?! -blush- I have no idea how this chapter was replaced, but here's the real chapter one of the story. Sorry again for the confusion...

Pre-note: I'm at it again, ditching my originals for another impossible project, not really. Starting November 6, I'll be getting back to all of my unfinished stories. Today however is a little Hallows Eve piece just for !

Summary: October 31st is here and CC Corp is throwing a WorldWide Halloween Festival. Everywhere a player turned they could find a spine tingling spectacle! Our story begins with Haseo who arrived when the festivities began at six in the evening; he wanted to greet a certain someone until he was attacked two hours after arriving by his fans and dragged into a dancehall. He has been trapped there since.

It is now 11 o'clock.

**Innocent Atrocities **

**By: The Not so GeniusVampire**

****** ∑ Hidden Forbidden Holding Cell ******

Haseo leaned of the far wall doing everything but falling asleep. He had possibly danced with every player at the WorldWide Halloween Festival, and even his PC was sweating enough to drown in. slowly he produced an ebony colored fan with dark crimson fur along the edges; the image of a spiraling dragon was also outlined red with a bright silver filling .The fan had a particularly long grip and if the adept rogue decided to swing it hard enough would clear the dance floor in an instant; there were sharp spines hidden in the fur ridden edges to add for extra punishment. However, Haseo was there for pure enjoyment, not to take someone's head off. The trouble with that came from the intense amount of 'pounce' vibes that waving the fan in his face exuded (of course he had no idea that was the cause).

Falling back onto the floor, he undid the straps to his cloak and stretched as far as his legs could reach. 'No wonder no one picked this outfit out, it takes a lot out of a person . . . or perhaps I've been moving around too much. . .' He thought. 'Still I needed a costume and this was one of the last ones Shino had. . .'

Around the second of October, CC Corp announced a new Halloween event; activities involved included character class changes, altered arena battles for money or even free equipment, and an open air Festival with its own set of surprises. The only way to participate in the festival was to buy a costume though. From what Haseo knew, Shino, Tabby, Natsume, Sakubo (Bo), and Atoli decided to volunteer for the costume campaign. They even tried to persuade him into helping. For the most part he designed posters for the shop and passed them to anyone with an address that did not already have one. This worked for about a week until it began to mess with school and work.

However, Shino told him not to worry about it, and that she knew someone who would work if it were for nothing but free reign of the shop. By the time Haseo could log back into The World almost everything was sold out. He found out through Endrance that two days after he left there was a girl who would advertise various outfits; apparently her looks drew in huge crowds of players as well as tempted people to buy. Coupled with Haseo's previous work, half of the merchandise was sold out in a few days.

Haseo wanted to find this girl and thank her, but according to Shino she bolted about a few minutes after the rogue himself logged in . . . 'bolted' being the operative word.

As he thought back to that day he could not help but think of a certain person he hoped to see. 'Kite. . . I know I invited him out of the blue and I _know _he's not a fan of crowds of people, but. . . I was hoping to talk with him for a bit. . .' He yawned. 'I've been up and down this place since the festivities began, but so far no luck . . . even in a costume he would stick out, he just does. . .' A long sigh followed this thought. 'Then again I should've e-mailed him; he could be looking for me as well.' Standing up he draped his red lined black cloak over his shoulder and adjusted his rather tight gold vest. The vest had reddish fastenings and a low neckline revealing a large blue pendant around his neck, the pendant also had a clasp on the back to hold up his cloak. Long black slacks with muted dotted stitches of red hugged his legs and waist, even though it were not necessary he wore a belt with a huge gold buckle, oddly enough there was a symbol etched onto the buckle that matched the symbol on Azure Kite's cap. This was completed by a pair of high laced raised heel boots. Silver white hair had been tipped in a dark crimson dye for the occasion.

He stood up and shook his blood tipped locks then rubbed his eyes until the thick black lining them turned into gray clouds that traced his wavemarked cheeks and part of his ears. As he shook his head, dangling teardrops followed the motion. 'I'll send him a text, and if I don't get a reply in the next hour I'll just have to leave. . .' He thought. //Hey there scary cat, if you're here let me know where you are. After all, you're supposed to be hiding from the creatures of the darkness not your friends.// laughing at his light taunt, he added //I'll be at concert hall three let me know if you want to meet elsewhere.//

With a long, labored sigh, Haseo sidled out of the dance hall and into the main area. A thick fog enveloped the entire area with lanterns hanging from weak posts being the only source of light. He used his fan to wave a path within the fog in order to see, stopping at the sight of a grunty shaped lantern. He reached Canard's own stand. Silabus leaned on the counter he appeared to be both tired and ecstatic. He had chosen to run the guild's stand which had consisted of rare (and not so rare) items that Haseo tossed because they were detrimental to him. However the Halloween campaign was too dangerous for newbies. Being the support guild it was the members of Canard decided to sell these items at a beginner's price. In addition they sold recovery items in the form of various candies.

Silabus himself was dressed as a Kyūdō practitioner. His outfit was a dark hunter's green with a white _mitsugake _on his right hand, in the style of a true practitioner he had a two meter long _yumi _strapped to his back, his _haya _were in a holster around his waist. Long brunet hair had been tied into a high ponytail and secured with a rather bright poufy green bow with white stitches; however, his tail-tale spiral remained. "Hey Haseo!" He called out with even more energy than usual.

"Hey yourself. . ." Haseo yawned out. "What in the World are you so happy about?"

"We're out of stock!"

". . . What? How is that possible? I thought with all of that stuff we'd be here till Thanksgiving . . ."

"So did I, but it turns out our guild attracts the right people." Looking severely pleased with life, he continued. "Remember earlier when Endrance showed up the way he did? Turns out his entire fan club was right behind him . . . something about following his footsteps. . . Anyway, after that Kuhn persuaded every girl he knew to buy at least one thing from this place; needless to say that was a blowout in itself. Pi came a bit later, bringing the same effect Endrance did. . . then several people fell in love with Gaspard's 'werewolf' routine, he's doing it at the folklore booth right now though. However, that wasn't the end of it. Just when I thought I had time to rest. . ." dramatic pause "An angel in a lavender kimono arrived!"

Haseo leaned on the counter listening as attentively as his patience would allow, but at Silabus's final line his arm slipped. "W-What?!"

The dreamy young man was barely listening. "She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen . . . and the sweetest I've ever come in contact with."

At that moment the rogue wanted to smack the older teen in front of him, but he would probably knock the stand down in the process. He snapped his fingers loudly, breaking Silabus's trance. "Was this the same girl that helped with the costume campaign?"

"Yeah. . ." Was the extremely slow reply, then as though a snap was not enough, Silabus reverted back to dreamland. "She was quite beautiful those days too. . ."

'I can't believe he's older than me. . .' Haseo slapped his forehead. "What did she do?"

"At first she just bought something, and then she kind of stared at me. After a few minutes she stepped the counter and offered to work for a while." He read Haseo's expression before he could make it. "Before you ask she didn't steal anything!"

". . ."

"Haseo, you know I have a photographic memory if something went missing I would've known!"

The crimson eyed adept rogue sighed. 'He's no liar either.' With a rather sharp nod he asked. "So did she have a name, or a reason to help for that matter?"

". . . She simply said she wanted to help you . . . and when I asked for her name. . ." For the first time Silabus actually cringed. ". . . She wouldn't give it . . . then she got this weird look in her eyes and had to hurry off." he said hastily.

". . . I see . . . all right well answer me this last thing . . . have you seen her before? I'm not talking about the costume thing; I mean any times before that."

". . . To be honest . . . not really . . . it surprised me a little when she said she knew you. . . I'd never seen her until that day . . . but I doubt she's lying. . ." Completely engulfed in thought, Silabus sat on the counter. ". . . Strange. . ."

"This is an abnormal time of year, what can you say?"Haseo shrugged.

"I guess . . . well I'm going to head to the dancehall."

"Yeah. . . I've got somewhere to be too. . . By the way, which way did she go?"

". . . Toward the concert hall. . . I think she had a date or something she was rushing. . ." the archer's voice faded as though his angel did something strange.

Haseo noticed. "You sound odd, did something happen?"

"Maybe it's nothing but she had platform boots and a chocker on . . . but she wore a violet kimono. . ."

The rogue replied with a shrug. "Maybe she couldn't make up her mind on what to wear and has something kinky on underneath."

"Haseo!" Silabus shouted with a now slightly bleeding nose. "Don't imply such vulgar things!"

"Hey it's like this: if angels were as innocent as people believed then why are there so many of them?"

**.Innocent Atrocities// Chapter 1: End.**

A/N: Evil Haseo! Anyway I think I ought to explain Silabus's costume I'll try to keep it short though.

-It should have at least been obvious that _Kyūdō_ is the Japanese form of archery that is used for both sport and spiritual purification. It is taught in some schools.

-_Yugake_ is a glove used on the right hand, in the story, Silabus is wearing a _mitsugake_, or three fingered glove.

-_Yumi_ is of course referring to the bow itself and is purposefully meant to stand taller than the archer.

-_Ya _are the arrows, and arrows have gender, _haya_ are male_; otoya _are female. I'm not sure if the gender of the archer depends on the gender of their arrow though.

-As for Haseo's costume, it took me forever to think it up, in this whole story there's only one costume that's clearly in my mind. . . Any way Haseo's is odd because my mind went blank until I saw a pic of Yuri (Kyo Kara Maoh) dressed as a vampire. They have the same voice actor so why not?

-Annyway please drop a line and I'll tell you who the girl is (and if you haven't figured it this must be the first story by me that you've ever read. EVER!!!)


	2. Chapter 2

Pre-note: So what if Halloween is over?! As long as there is candy at someone's home there is a Halloween story to be read, and that's that! Oh and be sure to read the notes, they are quite important. Seriously feel free to check them out before during or after the story.

Prologue: Haseo managed to escape the dancehall trap and into his guild's stand. Here he hears from Silabus that due to a number of run-ins with various stars of the World the guild's popularity skyrocketed. However, it was due to a mysterious 'angel' that remaining items were sold out in a few hours. He wants to find her, but there is someone else he must find as well.

What shall he do? Find out in:

**Innocent Atrocities**

**By: The Not so GeniusVampire**

Silabus decided to walk a short ways with Haseo, halfway to the concert hall he asked "Didn't you invite two people here?"

"Yeah. . ." Haseo replied in a rather weary voice. "I invited Endrance and Kite, why?"

"Oh just curious . . . wait . . . I haven't seen Kite at all . . . at least not the one you're talking about. . ."

"There's more than one? How's that possible?"

"The long and the short of it is that there's a twin blade named Kite who used to play the older version of the game. But that Kite looks like he's in his 20s or something. The one you invited looks like he's fourteen or younger, right?"

"How do you do that?"

Coming to a quick halt, Silabus adjusted his bow and yumi. "Do what exactly?"

Haseo turned around, his teardrops swinging again. "How can you tell person's age by looking at their PC?"

"What? I can't tell that, that's impossible. It's just their characters that look that way."

"That's even worse!"

"Think so? Hmmm . . . well I think you should find Kite first y'know?"

"I KNOW!" Haseo shouted so loudly his face turned an interesting shade of blue-violet. ". . . I know, but it's hard to find someone with the behavioral patterns of smoke."

"Still you can still see smoke if only for a few seconds. . ." Silabus turned facing an opposite way. ". . . Well here's where we part ways, later Haseo."

". . . Later . . ." The fan donned rogue waked rather bleakly. He suddenly received a text message.

_//. . . I'm at the concert hall right now. . . What happened to you did you get caught by an evil spirit? //_

'Very funny, Kite . . .' Haseo thought as he put his cloak back on. 'Still, I am glad he made it . . . or just the fact that he's here at all.'

The band had just started playing when Haseo first arrived at the concert hall although the performing duo appeared to be more like a variety act. On the far left side of the stage a young man with flyaway ebony hair and rimless glasses. Coal blue eyes matched the winged guitar his slender fingers glided across. His entire body flew across the stage in tune with the catchy tempo of "Sai". A deep blue almost black yutaka floated with each and every move he made; the yutaka was peppered with cream colored blossoms that outlined the sleek frame of a peach colored Kuda-gitsune which wrapped around his outfit down to the hem. Haseo could have sworn its tail swiped the singer's glasses.

Toward the center of the stage his 'partner' played a ghostly keyboard with a particularly flat expression. In fact he did not appear to be paying much attention to the thousands of screaming players. Even so, his voice carried well over the deafening din. His costume consisted of a suit so dark it bled into the stage's darkness background giving off a ghostly illusion of missing limbs. Despite this his evenly cut wispy hair stood out along with pitch black eyes as the fog seemed to outline his broad, gangly frame. Contradictory to his darker than dark theme, he had a stark white fox mask over his left eye.

Haseo could not help but tilt his head. 'They must get along in a volatile way in real life. . .' He mused randomly. 'Just looking at them gives of the vibe of one guy who exaggerates the point and tends to overreact. The other tends to plug his ears but is listening to every word anyway. The only thing missing is the girl who thinks they're the most hilarious things ever . . . and maybe a slightly older mysterious woman with a supernatural occupation.' He shook his head. 'I've got to stop distracting myself!' Slapping himself hard in the (real) face he began to look around. 'Now to find. . .'

At a slight turn Haseo spotted Endrance, almost out of reflex his eyes found the alluring man, not to mention he had walked with him for a brief spell. That did not stop him from taking in his imperial cream colored robe and cloak that were hemmed with cool silver. Upon closer inspection of the cloak, it was embroidered with roses colored in various shades of peach and tan. Playful white vines danced around the silver lined hem. Underneath the robe were soft silver colored pants and a muted blue belt and sheath which housed his blade the Seductive Rose; it had been colored a light blue for the occasion. Boots that resembled Haseo's in style were partially hidden by his cloak; the boots were white silver with pale blue laces. Nestled in his glimmering locks were several silver highlighted black roses. The roses set off an unusual glow in his crimson eyes.

However he was not alone, nor was he with Sakubo (Saku). In fact, Haseo had never quite seen a person quite the girl standing next to him. She was donned in a deep lavender kimono with a river bamboo hemming. Each stalk was the color of an orchid sunset and grew as high as her slightly weighted _furi._ The wind swept leaves all the way to her kimono's shoulders, even giving off the illusion of flying away into the various lower layers including the barely visible dark pink _nagajuban _with white collar. The bright yet complimentary kimono was held together with a hand painted obi encrusted with bold black and white lines and tied _darari_ style. The lines brought out her pearly alabaster skin and long banged turquoise hair. In her hair hung musical silver, bell-shaped _bira bira_ which swung lightly in the wind. The silver bells dangled low, touching her ruby wavemarkes. In thick contrast to her geisha apparel, she had a shiny leather strap belted around her slender neck as well as leather platform boots as opposed to the traditional _okobo_.

Haseo noticed these odd articles right off the bat. 'So that's the mystery girl I've heard so much about. . .' he mused with closed eyes. 'I can see why people would come stare at her by the boat loads . . . she has a rather aesthetic beauty to her, and I will admit from here she looks like quite the little flower. At the same time, I can't help but think she may be one of those poisonous flowers that one would rather not touch, just stare at. . . although it's not like I've heard anything about her being attacked. The only thing more baffling than that is Endrance talking to her. . . It's either baffling or ironic. . .' All of a sudden he felt an inner Haseo slap him. 'Idiot! No more distractions! I still have to find. . .'

He was met with an immense emerald green eye and jingling silver bells. Haseo leapt back "Yikes!!! What the hell?!"

The girl blinked twice revealing thick red lines tracing her eyes then giggled in a mischievous manner.

Glaring at her Haseo backed away. 'Flower my left. . .' Before is thought was complete he bumped into Endrance's leg. His scream dissolved into the fog.

"Now now Haseo," Endrance chided. "Is that anyway to greet a lady?"

'It is when said lady just scared the living Spirits out of you!' The young rogue fumed. ". . . She just surprised me that's, all." He allowed Endrance to help him up; all the while he noticed that the girl would not take her eyes off him. 'I suppose the part about her wanting to get my attention was dead on. . . I don't mind, but that stare is a little bit more than creepy. At the same time I can't look away, like I'm under some kind of spell.'

His musings were cut in half by a text message. _//Come on Haseo if you keep staring like that you're going to burn a hole in her head. //_

//Kite where in the nine hells are you?!// Haseo replied furiously.

_//I'm closer to you than you think, but if you can't find me then you'll just have to play a little game with me. //_

//A what?!// If human beings could spout steam, Haseo would have looked like a tea kettle. Little did he know that a certain kimono donned girl smirked quietly next to him. Endrance seemed to have a rather bewitching look in his eyes. Haseo continued to fume. //What do you mean a game?!//

_//Well, you kept me waiting for so long I almost turned to go, but you arrived the very moment the thought came to me. Of course I wanted to hang with you, but you threatened to leave if I were so why should I give you some leeway? //_ Still unnoticed, the girl's smirk turned into a toothy grin that reflected in the rising moon. _//But I'm not a vindictive person so I'm giving you a second chance, all you have to do is find me. //_

//And then what? //

_//Well, we'll see; you'll have to find me first. //_

Eyebrows quirked, Haseo inquired. //Give me a hint at least. //

_//I told you I'm close by all you have to do is look. //_

//Give me a real hint! //

_//How about this? Do you see the girl next to you? //_

Haseo glanced quickly at her. //Yes? What about her? //

_//If you stay by her side you're guaranteed to find me. Don't ask how I know, but she has her own weapons and an exceptionally high level, however her movement in the kimono is limited. If you assist her for at least half an hour I'll come to you, how's that? //_

//Sure but why half an hour? //

_//She'll probably ditch it by then. //_

//How do you know that?!//

_//Oh I just do, bye now. //_

'I want to strangle him so badly. . .' Haseo thought with a heavy sigh. His eyes shifted to the girl, whose expression had returned to a neutral smile. 'I wonder if she's got him hooked and he's using me to do what he's too shy to . . . What is it about this girl?! Personally, I think she's strange . . . probably has a screw loose too . . . Oh well.' He sighed and asked the first question that floated into his mind. "So what's your name?"

She pretended not to hear him.

". . . Did you hear me?"

A slight nod.

". . . Then do you plan on answering me?"

Shrug.

Haseo's eye twitched. "And why's that?!"

Shrug.

Endrance watched them like a spectator at a tennis match and smirked. Even though he stood a little behind Azure Kite (GV: he's the girl if you did not notice) the knight seemed to notice his amusement and glanced back. His expression clearly read that he thought Haseo was more than slow. 'This seemed amusing at first, now I'm not so sure…' he thought.

Irritated further by Azure Kite's lack of concentration, Haseo muttered. "Stalker. . ."

Bells rang harshly as Azure Kite's head snapped back to Haseo's face. The AI fixated him with a look so terrifying Halloween was not even suitable for it. All at once, the expression lifted to a doll like visage then lowered to something worse than exhausted.

Unsure of what happened, Haseo asked a rather unguarded Azure Kite. "Why do you go around helping my friends then say it's because you want to meet with me? If you want to talk to me so badly then actually come to me. It's a lot easier than what you're doing."

The kimono donned knight looked all over the area. 'If it were that easy then I would've done it by now. Mmmaybe not . . . hell maybe I simply like to mess with you. It's kinda fun.' All of this was summed up with a shrug and a shake of the head.

'If I wasn't used to the way Kite uses gestures like that I would've seriously gone postal on this girl.' Haseo folded his arms. 'I wonder if they know each other . . .' tilting his head he surveyed Azure Kite from head to toe. 'Funny, I could practically see him wearing something like this just for kicks. Nah . . . I'm just thinking of him cause he's getting on my nerves.'

Azure Kite could not help but feel self conscious at the way Haseo stared at him. 'Turn your head already! The last thing I need to know is that you like me like this too.'

'Poor Haseo . . . It is like he knows, but is in some state of disbelief.' Endrance mused then turned to the stage when he no longer heard any music. The two performers remained in their respective places, but now three girls and a tall, elegant woman stood in between them.

Closer to the more energetic of the two (and he definitely emitted an elated aura from it) stood a young girl with thick flowing floor length curls that were speckled in glittering orange stars. Combined with the now rising moon lighting the stage, sections of her hair glowed in pools around her feet. The stars matched her black and red orange striped knee highs which came just short of a subtly seductive black single-shoulder dress. There was a cluster of white gems around the chest area which brought the bright emerald of her eyes and silver shimmer of her lips. Her nails were not painted, but there were various vines and curling, overlapping lines tracing her long fingered hands. The vines matched her dancing wavemarks and the shimmering designs around her black boots.

To her right stood two girls although when standing next to each other they appeared to be one person in two bodies. The taller of the two had a long handlebar hairstyle and blue violet eyes to match her incredibly long hair. Her hair seemed to blend in with her blue violet knee-length dress as well as the stripes on her knee-highs. A white-silver pinafore covered most of the dress's front and was covered in flighty light lace. There were lacey ribbons in her hair, around her childish wrists, and around her neck. Black Mary Jane style shoes fit her dainty feet nicely. She appeared to be standing on her toes. Bluish wavemarks traced her calves and arms in jagged spikes.

These wavemarks connected with the more wavy marks of her partner. She had short pink hair that was tied into two small buns on top. Her eyes were a darker shade of pink almost red. She wore a short waistcoat stamped with red and black playing card symbols. There was also a shiny heart tattooed onto her left cheek. On her hands were long silken gloves, and on her feet were leather boots; both articles matched her waistcoat. In addition to her wavemarks her legs appeared to be painted with crimson and ebony hearts and spades with a short skirt to match. Just behind her little poufs were two great rabbit ears which stretched behind her knees. A fluffy cotton ball tail jutted from behind her. The chain to a huge pocket watch wrapped around her entire arm. The watch itself touched the ground.

Standing tall was a woman who could steal the heart of every player fortunate enough to be in the area. Ironically she was dressed as the Queen of Hearts. The imperial waist dress was cut quite low revealing a black heart on her chest strangely where the human heart would be located. The bodice of the dress was adorned with various chains and shiny black hearts; it was striped with white as well. The skirt was laced with golden ribbons and blood hearts. Gold ribbons were wrapped loosely around her slender wrists and fingers as well as her pitch black hair. Nestled between her long fingers was a gold and red kiseru which emitted a strange violet colored smoke.

After staring at these four women long enough to hurt his eyes, Haseo turned to Azure Kite. Before he could ask he was given a look that said "If you ask me why I'm not on that stage I'll hit you so hard your kids will feel it."

Quailing slightly Haseo mused. 'Does anyone in this world know about this girl's foul attitude or is she just this way around me? I thought she liked me or something . . . what's her deal then?'

'I don't care if he likes this thing I'm wearing I hate when people stare . . .' Azure Kite thought. 'And no one told me Haseo does it excessively. This is embarassing . . .'

No one else noticed their non-verbal struggle. All eyes were on these new players who seemed to appear out of thin air. As the woman raised her arms everyone seemed to think the same thing:

'This is going to a long night.'

**.Innocent Atrocities// Chapter 2: End**

* * *

First the GeniusVampire would like to give a biiiiig shout out loud to Chirp Chirp for inspiring Azure Kite's Oh so Beautiful Kimono . . . as long as I'm not killed for adding the hairpiece . . .

What? I told you if you've read even one of my .Hack stories the 'girl' would be obvious.

A/N: Terms, terms, terms . . . sorry for wanting real material, but it helps describing stuff.

-Let's start with Azure Kite's costume, since it is based off the traditional dress of a geisha.

-_Furi_: the long sleeves which dangle all the way to the ground, I may have mentioned that the sleeves are pocketed as well. An apprentice has to wrap them around her arms to avoid tripping most of the time.

-_ Nagajuban: _an under kimono, the color of it depends on years of experience, but for story (and picture) purposes, let's ignore that.

-_ Darari: _the 'dangling' style that maiko wear their obi; older geisha wear theirs in a 'taiko musubi' or 'drum knot'

-_ Bira bira_: a type of kanzashi (hair ornament) that is composed of freely hanging strips of metal that (or small bells) that make a pleasant jingling sound

-_ Okobo_: wooden clogs wore specifically by maiko

-Okay now that the wordily challenged costume is done on to Endrance's. His was a lot easier because of Haseo's. Haseo was dressed as Yuri, and aside from Wolfram, who LOVES Yuri like no other? Günter! Endrance's is a slightly different rendition of Gunter's outfit.

-Oh yes, if anyone's wondering who the nameless cast was it was the cast of xxxHolic (I love that series). Performing were Watanuki and Domeki, later on Himawari, Maru&Moro, and of course Yuko. Maru, Moro, and Yuko's costumes were based off of Alice in Wonderland, Himawari's came from my mind, and Watanuki and Domeki's came from actual manga art.

-And a Kiseru is a type of Japanese smoking pipe.

-And 'Sai' is the opening theme to the XXXHolic anime.

-Kay be sure to drop this dying vampire a line if you liked . . . and if you sympathize with her exhaustion . . .


	3. Chapter 3

Oh how I lament my poor story drive . . . of course I will continue to write. I just hope you will all excuse the freshness of the chapter. Well here goes.

Prologue: Haseo has resolved two issues without realizing it. First, he has finally found the mysterious girl. Second, he knows that Azure Kite is at the Halloween Festival, but he does not know the elusive AI is standing next to him. However, the mischievous knight has plans of his own . . .

Will destiny allow them to unfold?

**Innocent Atrocities**

**Chapter 3**

**By: The not so GeniusVampire**

This mysterious new player raised her hands and the crowd's voices died down. Not a whisper could be heard. When she spoke her voice carried in a hypnotic yet commanding manner. "As you all may have noticed this area has been dubbed 'Hidden Forbidden Holding Cell'. However, that name is not a scare tactic, nor is it for show. No, tonight this area will be a holding cell for all of you."

She paused in order to allow all forms of dissent to raise, however, no one could muster the courage to contradict her directly. In fact their voices died down moderately quickly.

The kiseru emitted a thin plume of violet smoke as the sorceress continued. "It is up to each and every one of you to escape this prison. There is only one way to accomplish this . . ." The violet smog danced all over the area, including the environment surrounding the concert hall. "You must realize your greatest desire . . ." Her eyes flashed "And claim it as your own."

At those words, Azure Kite and Haseo unwittingly looked at each other.

"Keep in mind . . ." Her voice became increasingly distant as the deep curling fog cut off player's visuals. ". . . From here on out every move you make _must_ bring you closer to what you desire. If not, you will never escape." As the last remnants of the stage vanished, her final words resonated in the air:

"Traveler, be warned it is possible to become intertwined within the desire of another."

* * *

Haseo blinked slowly. Truth be told, he was feeling off balance while the Queen spoke. At some point his vision faded altogether. Rubbing his eyes gingerly he mused. 'Did that woman put all players to sleep or something?' When he opened his eyes fully he was once again met with the endless whirlpools otherwise known as Azure Kite's eyes. The young rogue turned out to be too groggy to care. He simply rolled to the side and sat up. "Where are we?" He asked.

Truthfully lost, Azure Kite shrugged.

"I see . . ." Haseo fanned himself for the sake of moving then leaned on a nearby stone wall. The endless path ahead appeared to be composed of brick, mortar, marble, and quartz all at once. Oddly enough, the ground was ordinary yet solid soil. When both PCs looked upwards, the sky did not exist, only swirling plumes of bluish-violet smog painted the sky. All of a sudden, several things darted from the saturated air. "What th- did you see that?"

The turquoise knight nodded tersely.

"Hey . . ." Out of pure habit, Haseo was used to Endrance being near him, even when he said very little. Not seeing him messed with Haseo's psyche even more than the confining walls and creepy sky. All of a sudden, another thought crashed-landed in his head. 'Endrance isn't here, but _Wednesday Addams _is?! How did that happen?!" He shot Azure Kite an alarmed look.

To his surprise, Azure Kite appeared to be equally distressed. 'This isn't good, Endrance had the level head . . . If Haseo blows up, I just might hurt him . . . 25 minutes is too long to risk anything.' The knight closed his immense emerald jewels. 'Calm down Kite, you're much more patient than this; just keep your cool . . .!' He noticed a pair of ruby eyes appraising him.

'Hm, for some reason she looks cuter under this purple haze. It brings out the kimono which in turn brings out the paleness of her skin. Like this I can see why she knocked every other man in the World off their feet. If it weren't for the head games I'd actually ask her out . . .' He ruffled his hair roughly. 'No way! I can't do that . . . I'm not _that_ captivated!' He sighed. 'Without En here looks like I'll have to pull a few stops.' With a blank smirk, he teased. "Hey, Wednesday, we shouldn't stick around to find out what those things that fell out of the 'sky' were. I propose we head north, sound good?"

'What the hell did he just call me?!' Indignation lit up Azure Kite's eyes. '. . . I'll _try_ to ignore that . . . after all to him I have no name . . . Anyway, I agree with the distance thing . . .' He carefully adjusted the obi (as not to trip) and began to walk ahead. Somehow he stumbled over one of his sleeves. Haseo caught him by the arm. "High level or not, letting a girl go ahead of you (unless you're both female) in an uncharted area is bad karma. How about I take the lead?"

Azure Kite quirked an eyebrow at him. 'I never expected Haseo of all people to say something like that . . .' He nodded slowly. 'Why not?' He settled for walking slightly to Haseo's side.

After they walked about 100 feet or so, Haseo began to fidget some, he was unaccustomed to quiet situations even when he asked for it. Out a need to hear something he spoke. "You say you know me, but _when exactly_ did we meet? Every time I look at you, even now nothing is adding up. . ."

With a light scratch to his cheek, Azure Kite looked thoughtful. He suddenly snapped his fingers and reached up to the hairpiece. Using the dangerously sharp point he etched a symbol onto a nearby wall. When he stepped to the side Haseo grit his teeth.

'Tri-Edge's' symbol glared whitely on the wall.

'I . . . didn't even think about that . . . to be honest I'm still trying to forget some of those incidents. Even so I've met so many people in that short amount of time. She could've been a Lost One . . .' He voiced this thought. "Where you by any chance a Lost One?"

'I 'lost' a lot of limbs, that's for sure, but . . .' the knight shook his head.

'Are you saying you fought back and somehow survived?"

Azure Kite gave Haseo a 'sorta . . .' look. He then added something on the wall.

"Eh? 'You fought me too'?" Haseo's face became an odd mix of shock and incredulity. 'Now we're getting somewhere . . . sorta. I've gotten into so many fights it's hard to keep track, still I can remember a face in a battle much faster than a casual passerby.' Slowly he inquired. "If you don't mind who won?"

Azure Kite held up two fingers.

"We're even?"

He nodded.

'And the list just got shorter.' Haseo thought. 'I think one more question should help me out . . . but what should I . . .' before he could even consider a question, Azure Kite wrote a message: 'You're thinking too hard, in fact, there's one thing about me that'll never add up. Figure that out and the rest will fall into place.'

"But you just said I'm thinking too much, now you're telling me to think."

'No I'm telling you to _forget_.'

Haseo blinked and rubbed his eyes. 'Stop thinking . . . brainstorm . . . Who in hell _is_ she?!'

'And with that I think I confused him, Haseo you're so dense . . . maybe I should tell him consider Sakubo . . .' He suddenly heard a loud _splat!_ On the ground was a white blob of . . . something . . . And then . . .

_SPLAT!_

More of the strange liquid hit him squarely on the head. Some of it leaked onto his nose and down his neck. Slowly, shakily, Azure Kite touched his face; the substance almost caused his hand to stick. Whatever the liquid was it felt like dead bugs had been squished all over his head, and from the way his nose wrinkled they could have been stinkbugs.

Haseo gasped and tore the stricken knight from the wall. 'What in the world?' He looked at the wall, nothing was there. 'I've got a bad feeling about this . . . It'll have to hold for now though . . .' He ripped a piece of his cape off and began to wipe Azure Kite's face off. The cloth almost stuck to his face as well. "Geez . . ." Haseo commented. "This stuff reminds of spit, the kind that says 'I had too much candy for my own good.'

Azure Kite flinched at the word 'spit'.

"Or maybe it's mucus." He tore another piece and moved on to the knight's rather soft hair.

The AI chocked as goose bumps crawled all over his pale skin.

"Or maybe . . ." Haseo's eyes reflected in the substance on Azure Kite's neck. "It's vomit, on account of the smell . . ."

Pale cheeks colored green as the knight forced his own vomit down. He whirled around giving Haseo a venomous look.

The ruby-eyed rogue read the foul look. "Whoops did I say too much? Sorry bout that, it's just that even some of my female friends aren't grossed out by spit or slime. Either that or they simply put up with the fact I think out loud sometimes . . . Except for my friend Kite."

The turquoise haired knight jolted. 'He thinks I'm a friend?'

Haseo took no notice as he kept on talking. 'I think the two of you would get along rather well; you act a lot alike, but enough to be different (I think). Anyway, he can stomach various things, withstand pain I could never imagine, and can be unbearably stubborn. Still, he's an interesting guy to be around, a bit quirky and introverted at times, but you can just _tell_ you're in good hands when he's around. Well, that is unless you have a cold or something. He can't stand spit, in fact that's the only thing I've seen him afraid of. He flinches, convulses, even screeches at the very thought of it." The rouge laughed. "I remember one time I played with a cold and made the mistake of sneezing in front of him.' He laughed harder. "He PK'd me."

'That's right . . . I vaguely remember that day.' Azure Kite thought. 'I almost got misted by it . . . EW!!!!!'

"Well at any rate, I think I got it all _this_ off. Still when you look at the color . . . you'd think it came from somewhere else . . ." Haseo mused.

The knight shook his head Haseo noticed and laughed. "All right I get it no more spit talk . . .!" All of a sudden he pushed the turquoise knight aside so he would not get splashed by a fresh glop of saliva. 'Yech! This _is_ disgusting!' He fumed then decided to look up.

Eight glowing rubies stared back at the rogue. They were settled dead center on an elongated horse-like head with short tentacles in place of teeth. These slimy protrusions oozed the sickly tanned slime. It had a mangy black mane that melted into slick green skin. The mane traced a rubbery spine that grew from the wall itself. Two sickle arms clawed through the wall. The monster had no shadow.

Out of reflex, Azure Kite reached for his blades, hidden within the kimono's sleeves. Regardless if Haseo noticed the motion or not he stepped in front of the knight. 'This looks easy enough . . . I think I'll use the fans . . .' He split the single large fan into two separate ones.

All at once, the color drained from Azure Kite's face. 'I hope those fans don't blow that slime around me . . . I'll level this area.'

"Hey what do you think you're doing?! Move it!" Haseo demanded.

'Huh? What is he talking about? I can take care of that thing on my own!'

The white haired rogue read his mind. "At this moment, you're my charge! Your skill or level isn't important at the moment! What is important is that you don't get hurt while on my watch, got it?!"

All the knight could do was nod slowly.

Haseo smirked rather smugly. 'She's starting to trust me a little . . .' with a nod in the knight's direction he said. "Good, all I need you to do is get far enough away to not get wet. Wherever you are I'll find you, but it would help to stay put." With that, Haseo darted off at the monster.

Azure Kite barely managed to turn around before staggering without falling. It was the last time he would trip. 'This . . . stupid . . . THING!!!' He flared then yanked the hairpiece out of his hair so hard it snagged some of his own short locks. With little regard to his own skin he used the sharp side of the piece to rip the kimono's sides all the way up to the obi around his waist. There was a quick flash of something black and lacey as well as the full length of his leathery boots. After a quick flex of his lithe legs he darted off at desirable pace.

Little did he know Haseo looked back.

.Chapter 3//End

* * *

There! I've finally done it! Huh, when I look back this chapter is a little on the short side, well, it was supposed to be longer, but that last sentence was a closer in itself.

-Not much to say here. Wait, in case you think you're reading the wrong story, yes, Haseo called Azure Kite 'Wednesday Addams'. His first impression was a rather scary one, so he's going to bother the poor little guy about it until he cracks. That's right the torturous 'horror girl' names won't stop until he figures it out.

-Azure Kite's 'spit phobia' isn't real just when I wrote that part I wanted to gag.

-The monster sadly isn't mine. It's a duel monster called the 'Wall Shadow'.

Please drop a line and I just may surprise you.


	4. Chapter 4

OK! Back by popular demand is the late GeniusVampire! . . . Ok I know you readers don't really care about me, just my stories, but I'm fine with that! So where was I . . .? –Reads script- Ok here it is!

Summary: "Traveler, be warned you may become engulfed in the desire of another." The words of a mysterious woman echoed throughout the labyrinth. Two travelers are about to learn the extent of those cryptic words, will it lead to misfortune or . . . or . . . or . . . –sweatdrop-

Ask me not dear reader, decide for yourself in:

The Not so GeniusVampire's:

**Innocent Atrocities**

**Chapter 4**

Azure Kite peered around a distant wall and sighed. 'I could've burned that thing's skin off . . . However, for the sake of illusion, I've got to keep this façade up a little longer . . .' he sighed again then blinked. A hard, hot gust of air crawled down his neck. 'Looks like I'll get my wish after all . . . not a person in sight . . .' He reached deep into the depths of his sleeves, hands over both blades. This Shadow appeared to be larger than the last one with six additional sickle-claws. Its breath came out in harsh gasps and its jaws seemed to take up its entire head. Two of its fangs were incredibly close to the back of Azure Kite's neck. Then knight moved away slowly, as he did the monster followed. However, before any other moves could be made, the roar of a dragon echoed off the walls.

The walls turned an icy blue with an oceanic pattern. A beautiful water dragon curved around a nearby corner with wide jaws. Its endless body curled around the shadow's lanky neck and locked its jaws around its muzzle. The shadow turned an icy blue, expanded, and burst into strips of blue clouds. As the remnants of the shadow dissipated, Azure Kite turned to see who summoned the dragon.

A young man in a black and violet uniform appeared. The black of his long slacks gave his legs a rather elongated appearance. His long sleeved blazer gave off the same effect to his arms. Gold rings were around each of his long fingers, which were curled lightly around a sword with a ghastly howling face on the hilt. A long black cloak with a violet hem floated behind him with a sapphire clasp holding it to the uniform. However, a winged helmet covered his entire face.

Azure Kite was not sure if he even wanted to be around this teen, however, something about him felt trustable. The latter feeling became stronger when the teen spoke. "Are you all right?" The voice behind the mask was honest and forthcoming.

The knight nodded slowly.

The mysterious man tilted his head. "You seem suspicious of me, is something wrong . . .?" He paused. "Oh! . . . It's the mask isn't it?"

He was answered with another nod.

"Ah, sorry about that . . . I have a possessive fiancé . . . I'm not allowed to show my face to anyone for fear I may 'flirt' with someone else.'

'Wow . . . _that's _possessive. . .' Azure Kite scratched his head in amazement. 'Still, you can't help but feel a bit jealous . . . Or maybe it's because I kind of wish Haseo would get a clue and act like that over me . . .' He flinched then looked down at his leg. He had paid no attention to his skin when he cut the slit in his kimono. There was a deep bleeding cut in his leg.

The masked teen noticed. "You're hurt . . ."

Azure Kite flinched again then shook his head.

"Nonsense, that gash on your leg looks nasty, not to mention your clothes are ripped. At least let me heal you." He knelt down to the deep cut. A ribbon of dark blue water flowed from his hand to the cut, sealing it. In no less than a few seconds, nothing but the AI's alabaster skin was visible.

'Hm, that's a neat trick.'

The masked teen stood up. "There we go." He laughed lightly. "Oops, I haven't even introduced myself, though with this mask . . . it may not even matter."

Azure Kite shook his head and extended his hand.

"You mean you don't mind?"

He was answered with a nod.

"Well then . . ." He extended his hand. "My name is . . ."

"YURI! YOU PHILANDERING HARLOT!" A loud voice echoed down the halls. The walls began to light up with a faint orange glow.

The hairs on the back of Yuri's neck stood up. "Oh no . . ." He whispered.

'And I believe the fiancé is about to appear . . .' Azure Kite mused.

The walls warped in and out in heated waves. The profile of a feline silhouette made its way across the hall. This ominous shadow gave way to a slender, yet lithely built blond with short cascades of wavy hair. His eyes blazed fiery green. The fiery youth's costume consisted of a full bodied tiger suit with crimson-orange stripes. His boots were coal black with blazing red straps. A long furry tail protruded from the back of his costume. It could have wrapped around his body twice and still have space to trip someone. Both paws glowed with an intense heart burning fireballs and his whiskers were so straight they appeared to be made from wire. The rage in his eyes was aimed directly at Azure Kite.

'Oh my . . .'the knight mused with a hand over his mouth. 'What did I do?'

Yuri sighed. "Wolfram . . ." he removed the helmet, revealing short neatly trimmed ebony hair and a matching pair of deep black eyes. "Can you please calm down for even a second? Nothing to be suspicious of happened."

Wolfram's flames blazed even higher, "Nothing to be suspicious of?! Why were you just fondling that person's leg like that?!"

'That person?!' Azure Kite mused with a bit of indignation. 'I almost feel as though he knows I'm not a girl . . . maybe I'm over thinking this . . .'

"'That person'? She's just a young lady that I found injured in the middle of nowhere." Yuri replied in a somewhat calm manner.

The blonde's ears quirked. "Yuri . . . this entire _maze_ is in the middle of nowhere . . ."

"Well I found her lost, alone, and in need of assistance. . . " Yuri calmed down because Wolfram at least reduced the intensity of his flame.

"You just saw a pretty face and assumed he needed help!"

'I was right.' Azure Kite thought. 'He does know I'm not a guy . . . I don't know if I should be happy someone in this maze thinks or bewildered that someone figured out at all . . .'

Yuri picked up on the word 'he' as well. "Now Wolfram come on," he said slowly. "I know you have a bit of a jealous streak when you see around someone pretty, but I think I can tell a cross dresser from a real girl."

Wolfram groaned. "Yuri is your brain even _working_ tonight?" He folded his arms. "We've run into several cross dressers, and you couldn't tell _any _of them form the real thing." Emerald eyes met with jade ones. "Although I'll admit he's the most convincing one I've seen all night, I'll even . . ." Wolfram appeared strained. "I'll even admit he's kinda attractive . . ."

'Kinda?! What do you mean _kinda?!' _Azure Kite fumed. 'I'm the most attractive _person _you'll meet in this entire maze! . . . Wait what the hacek am I thinking!? Ugh I'm getting too used to this outfit . . . or maybe the compliments . . . meh . . .'

"But, I will not accept you clinging on to him like that!"

"No one was clinging; I was helping an injured person! And I'm still not sure about her being a guy . . ." Yuri faltered at the sound of a sigh.

The kimono donned knight sighed loudly. _//He's right you know. // _He sent the same message to Wolfram in order to keep no secrets.

For a moment they appeared bewildered, Yuri calmed down first. "That's an odd text . . ."

Even Wolfram calmed down long enough to agree.

_//Well this is the only way I can communicate with others . . . I have . . . slight speaking issues, but there are times when I need to give my opinion on something or simply talk. I hope this isn't a problem.//_

"It's not."/ "It is!" Yuri and Wolfram said at once.

Yuri turned to Wolfram "What's the issue?"

"It doesn't explain why the texts are so strange!"

_//Oh I guess not . . . well . . . // _the knight looked thoughtful. _//It depends if you can believe I'm not human . . . // _

Wolfram looked puzzled. "That depends if _you_ can believe Yuri and I hail from a world outside both the virtual World and the human world."

_//Hmm . . . I'd believe you even if you were lying. //_

Yuri looked between them. There appeared to be a tense air around Azure Kite and Wolfram, like they were secretly one the same wave link despite their apprehensive conversation. "So you're not human . . . and you're a guy, wow . . ." He said aloud in order to solidify what was being confirmed. "Oh hold on, we don't even know your name."

_// . . . My . . . name . . .? //_

"Yes, unless you don't want us to know."

_//No it's all right, but before I do, you have to promise not to tell a certain someone. He's an adept rogue with silver-white hair named Haseo. //_

"Why is it so important?" Wolfram demanded.

_//I'm playing a name game with him; y'see he doesn't know I'm a guy yet. If he can't figure it out, then I'll tell him. However, it won't be very much fun if someone tells him, but dropping a hint of two is fine. //_

"I suppose . . . Why are you even doing this?"

_// . . . I can't really answer that . . . I don't know myself at the moment . . . //_

"You want to be noticed . . ." Yuri said quietly. Wolfram and Azure Kite turned to him. "Sorry for guessing, but you probably like him . . . However, your being who/what you are is hindering you from saying what you truly want. Instead you're using this 'game' as a roundabout way of finding out what he thinks of you."

Azure Kite gazed oddly at Yuri. _//Perhaps you're right . . . // _He turned around and folded his arms lightly.

"Or maybe this Haseo is denser than a brick and you want to know if he likes guys or not." Wolfram chuckled. "So you picked this 'pretty girl' charade because a lot guys will tell cute girls anything."

The knight fell against the wall for support. _//Ah I'd say that's on the mark too . . . //_

"Still," Wolfram said "Don't you think you should be looking for him . . ." He pushed Azure Kite away from Yuri. "And not flirting with my fiancé?!"

The knight stuck his tongue out playfully. _//I'm not flirting; besides he's supposed to be coming this way so I'm just waiting.//_

Wolfram looked suspicious with both arms around Yuri's neck. Yuri smiled lopsidedly. "Weren't we supposed to learn your name somewhere in this?"

_//Oh! Right my name is . . . //_

Before he could reply Haseo's voice rang out in the distance. "Regan!!!"

Azure Kite made a sound similar to a bird in an air vent. He fell on Wolfram's shoulder –since he was the closest person next to him. _//That's not it . . . //_

"Then what is it?" Wolfram whispered as he eyed Azure Kite, at least the knight was not leaning on Yuri. Yuri leaned in on them.

_//My name is Kite . . . //_

At that moment, Haseo jogged up to Azure Kite, he appeared to be out of breath.

"Wow you're slow for a bodyguard . . ." Wolfram commented.

"Wolfram!" Yuri shouted Azure Kite rolled his eyes thinking. 'Well it's true'

"Oh stuff it!" Haseo panted."Let's see you keep up with this speed demon! Then try to do it while a monster slides around the walls trying to kill you!" His hair bristled.

"Excuses, excuses . . ."

"Look I was fighting one of those wall monsters when I lost sight of her! However, I heard these . . ." The ruby-eyed rogue jingled Azure Kite's hairpiece. "Down the pathway, they're quite loud."

As if to confirm this Azure Kite shook his head, causing the bells to sing louder.

Wolfram sighed then looked Azure Kite in the eyes, the knight could tell he was up to something, but was unsure as to what it was. All of a sudden, the blond pushed the knight into Haseo. The shove was not particularly hard but Azure Kite lost enough balance to almost brush lips with Haseo. The white haired rogue almost fell as well. "Hey! What's your problem?!"

"Problem?" The blond tiger said so slowly Yuri dared not to interrupt him. "My problem is your boyfriend pawing at my fiancé!"

"_Boyfriend?_ I don't even have a _girlfriend_ I don't even have a candidate at the moment . . ." His words faltered at the last word. "Well maybe I do . . ." Haseo looked around then spotted Azure Kite. After about a minute of eyeing him he said. "Hold on . . . did you just imply that this girl isn't a girl?"

"You mean you can't tell?" Wolfram tilted his head.

"What's to tell, all I see is a girl; maybe not a perfectly normal one, but a girl nonetheless. Not to mention she's pretty good looking."

Azure Kite groaned inwardly.

"However, I'm interested in someone . . ." He looked at the knight and said. "He vaguely resembles her physically . . . Have either of you seen him?"

'He's standing right there . . .' Yuri and Wolfram thought while shaking their heads in unison.

"That's too bad . . . I really wanted to tell him something . . ." Ruby eyes went downwards. "It's something important . . ."

"Let me ask you something . . ." Yuri almost said 'Haseo', but stopped midsentence.

"Oh my name's Haseo, so what did you want to ask me . . ."

"Call me Yuri," The ebony eyed PC struggled one of his arms under Wolfram's arm to shake Haseo's. "I wanted to ask you . . . have you thought of asking the girl where your friend is?"

"Ask . . . her . . ?"

"Well, this maze is based off of desire, so I look at like this: You have a friend you wish to tell something of the utmost importance, but he's nowhere in sight. However –and I'm guessing- this girl has been by your side since you entered the maze. The way I see it she either is the one you've been looking for, or she knows where he is."

'Wow . . . Yuri seems to have an answer for everything, not to mention the answer he gives is a mind-blower.' Azure Kite thought.

Haseo was flabbergasted. 'I hadn't thought about that . . . Although I think I remember Kite mentioning her leading to him somehow . . .' the ruby-eyed rogue scratched his head. 'But how do I ask her?'

"If you wanted to see him half as much as you wanted to then you'd spit it out; tell her what you want. Heck, yell it out into the open then maybe he'll fall out of the sky." The blond tiger grimaced.

"L-look here, I just . . . never thought about it, and this girl acts so much like . . . him . . ." He gave Azure Kite an appraising look. The AI bit his lower lip. "Say . . ." He stepped closer to the knight.

Azure Kite stepped back. 'I _really_ don't like it when he looks at me like that . . .'

"Are you . . ." He paused briefly. "Are you a fan of Kite's?"

'What in the world gave him _that _idea?!' Azure Kite collapsed against the wall. 'Haseo . . . are you completely devoid of common sense?!'

Yuri and Wolfram looked at each other.

Haseo looked around sheepishly. "Just hear me out . . . I've noticed that this girl and Kite act a lot alike down to the way they utilize body language as opposed to speaking. Then there is the way they fly off the handle so easily. Not to mention they _look_ somewhat alike . . . especially the wavemarks . . ." The white haired rogue traced Azure Kite's cheeks with his index finger.

The knight gave him a strange look.

"Hey I may be a little dense now and then, but I do notice the particulars."All of a sudden he clapped his hands together. "How about I call you 'Kite'?"

'WHAT?!' The three latter PCs thought.

"I mean you act so much like him, why not?" Haseo shrugged until he received a message. _//Haseo what are you doing?!//_

//I'm playing a game of my own; it's what you get for taking longer than 30 minutes.//

_//W-what?! I don't have a concept of time you know that! //_

//Well then you should have said you'd show up when you felt like it. //

_//You jerk . . . //_

//Say what you will, but until you come out I'll just have to play with her. That is of course until you finally come out. Speaking of which, are you wearing a costume? //

_//. . . Umm . . . yeah . . . //_

//Why the nervous response? Is it that bad? //

_//Sorta . . . Let's just say it's the _last_ thing you'd expect to see me in. //_

"I don't care." Haseo blurted out. "I don't care if you're walking around in nothing but a trenchcoat (actually I wouldn't mind that) . . . I just want to see you." His eyes floated off. "In fact that's why I invited you here, and probably why when we entered this maze Endrance wasn't anywhere in sight . . . I wanted to spend some alone time with you, that's all. . ."

Azure Kite looked at Haseo. 'Thanks a lot . . . I feel bad now . . . seems like we've been thinking the same thing all along.' He smiled. 'Haseo you . . .'

"Well, what will you do now?" Wolfram spoke slowly. "You now know what you could possibly expect from him, so why not give up the ghost?"

Haseo eyed the blond until he realized that he was talking to the 'mystery girl' at his side. 'She' nodded. The confused rogue looked in between them.

Azure Kite extended his right hand to gently stroke Haseo's cheek. At first the rouge was confused, but the longer the knight's remained on his face, the more he began to understand. Not only did his face feel chilled, but he could _feel_ the AI's fingertips on his face. He leaned lightly into this feather light touch then paused. 'Hold on . . . I can feel her fingers . . . That's not right though, my senses only react to Kite . . .!" Haseo began to open his mouth.

All of a sudden the ground began to roil and shake. Walls reformatted themselves; they even grew from the earth. Two of the walls knocked Azure Kite and Wolfram off their feet as well as separating them from Haseo and Yuri.

As the walls closed in, Azure Kite could have sworn he saw Haseo reach out to him.

* * *

**.Chapter//End**

**Author's notes**

-Whew- I'm done . . . uh for the record I've been writing this in my free time, but believe you me the original is way different! The only thing I'll say is that in the original version Azure Kite was the only one who got separated.

-So how do you like Haseo and his semi dense-ness? I think Endrance put it best in chapter 1 or 2 . . . "It's like he knows, but he's in some form of denial."

-Hmmm . . . costumes . . . Well sense Haseo was wearing Yuri's costume, I had to look for something else . . . then I stumbled upon Code Geass. There is a staggering personality difference between Yuri and Lelouch, but they both have similar hair, proportions, and look good in black. Besides with Wolfram's personality it takes little effort to imagine him putting that helmet on Yuri's head. Speaking of Wolfram, his costume is a handmade variant of the Kyo Kara Maoh Halloween poster.

-Also Yuri and Wolfram . . . as a heads up if any chapter after this makes no sense then it is because I only wanted to make a story with them in it. Why? Yuri and Haseo share the same voice actor while Azure Kite and Wolfram have the same voice actress. Cool, ne?

-So drop a review line and the randomness will continue!

-Heads up a character you've probably never seen or even _heard _of will appear to give our cuties a hard time! Who? Uh I just said you wouldn't know if I said so. Laters!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello my loyal readership! After 1000 years the next installment of this complete and utter randomness is here! Uh I don't have time to proofread this on because my computer is being a real dunce on the internet it likes to freeze at random so I'm in a hurry! Please enjoy!

Ok, I'm now in college English and because of it I'm going to try something new. What exactly have I done? I won't tell! But it should be obvious after my new guest has arrived . . .

Soooo as a forewarning, there is a character most of you have possibly never seen before, but worry not! He is not detrimental to the story and if you don't love him you won't forget him anytime soon. . . I guess this means it's more like a talk show than a crossover . . . Hmmm . . . anyway on to . . .

. . . The Summary: After narrowly escaping the jaws of a wall monster a disguised Azure Kite finds himself being aided by a masked young man named Yuri. The reason behind Yuri's mask is his extremely possessive fiancé, Wolfram. In the middle of a rather heated misunderstanding Haseo reappears only to add to the confusion. However, just as he appeared to be making a breakthrough the maze reformatted it; separating Azure Kite from Haseo as well as Wolfram from Yuri.

Discover their path in:

Innocent Atrocities,

By: The Not so GeniusVampire

Chapter 5

Wolfram felt someone shaking his shoulders. He shook his head slowly and opened his heavy eyelids. He was met with Azure Kite's intense jade green eyes. //Oh Good, you're awake. // The AI looked cross. //You shouldn't worry people like that y'know! //

Wolfram shook his head again. "Please tell me that the walls of this confounding maze didn't separate me from Yuri . . ."

Azure Kite shook his head sadly. //Sorry to say this, but that's what happened . . . sorry . . . //

The blond tiger checked his ears for scaring. "What could you possibly be sorry for?"

//Well I'm pretty sure if I hadn't run into Yuri you wouldn't be involved in this mess . . . A mess that I brought on myself . . .//

"Both of those statements are true, but it's not your fault for being . . . shy around someone you want to be with."

// . . . Even so, I think I ruined your date with Yuri . . . //

". . ." Wolfram looked off into space and began to play with his velvety ears. "You could say that . . . We haven't had time for each other in a while . . . But that's no reason to blame you for anything. Besides, I'm sure Yuri didn't mind." He sighed. "I know for a fact he can't stand seeing people in distress or someone who's in pain. The moment you described your situation I knew Yuri wouldn't let it go."

//You always seem to know what's going on in Yuri's mind. // Azure Kite interjected with a lopsided grin.

"Of course, when it comes to Yuri, I know everything, including the fact that he'd be lost without me."

//Are you referring to this maze, technically you're lost with him. //

Wolfram's ears flattened in a mildly irritated manner. "At least we were together."

Azure Kite raised an eyebrow. //Hey I was with Haseo before I ran into Yuri! //

"But he didn't know that, did he?"

//! No . . . //

"I rest my case. Anyway, since we're here I'll give you some relationship advice. The first thing you need to know is that there needs to be balance." He waggled his padded index finger. "It's not hard to tell that you're the one with some degree of common sense, not to mention you're way more sensitive than Haseo. You also seem to have strong intuition . . . which you aren't using . . ."

//I can't use what I don't have. //

Wolfram sat butterfly style and leaned against the wall. "Well, Kite it's like I just said, you're not using it. Once you do that, things will be much easier for you. You're a no-nonsense type of person, so why you refuse to tell Haseo how you feel is beyond me."

Azure Kite stared moodily at the wall.

"OH come on! You already know he likes you, I think he even hinted that he wanted to date you, so there's no reason to fear rejection. What else could you be afraid of?!"

//Well . . . he won't talk to me . . . //

"Well, you haven't given him any reason to tell you."

//I don't bite . . . much . . . //

"The point is you haven't given him any reason to tell you how he feels."

//There's some sort of signal? I never knew . . . //

"I don't know about a signal per-say, but hiding your feelings is the worst possible thing to do especially if both parties are hesitant. Nothing will ever happen if you are both backing away, someone has to take a step forward."

//But what if one person is taking a step forward in the wrong direction? Haseo has no problem telling other people what he thinks of me, but he won't tell me what he's thinking about.//

"He talks to other people about his feelings for you?" Wolfram echoed.

Azure Kite nodded. //As far as I know, he's told Endrance . . . He's a real close friend of Haseo's by the way . . . Endrance told me this morning . . . I decided to hide my identity because I didn't believe him . . . But now . . .I'm not so sure . . .//

"Once again, you haven't given him a chance to say anything, and you're hiding from him. He's got to tell someone, or maybe he's trying to get you to come out of your shell."

//I don't get it. //

"You've got a short temper; you're bothered the small details. He's probably doing this to force you out of hiding; whether or not it is a subconscious action is a mystery."

//You think so? //

"At this point . . ." Wolfram's eyes widened.

Azure Kite looked confused. //What's up? //

"Um . . . was that thing there?" Wolfram's eyes drifted to Azure Kite's left.

The AI followed Wolfram's dumbfounded gaze.

He wished he hadn't.

The "person" next to him was a robot with a nutcracker- like face. His head was hung low enough to question if it were attached. Dark, dirty blond hair covered most his face; however it was not enough to hide a long silver wind-up key protruding from the side of his head. He was donned in a crimson trenchcoat with buckles around the waist, a black half-sleeve shirt, and red leather pants. Over the pants were black leather chaps. The chaps were tucked into red cowboy boots with sharp red and silver spurs on them. Heavy spiked gauntlets covered his arms up to the elbow and his hands were covered with black fingerless gloves. There was an unusually large pistol in his left hand and a sword strapped to his back. The hilt was modeled after a dragon with its mouth open to the blade. One of the belts had the word "ennui" inscribed on the buckle.

Azure Kite's face morphed from shock to curiosity. He sidled closer.

Wolfram moved closer in case he had to pull Azure Kite away. "Do you have any idea of what you're doing?"

Azure Kite nodded. //I'm investigating an unusual PC . . . // He crawled closer and reached his hand out like a cautious cat.

"Kite . . . you're scaring me . . . you're acting like you've never seen a robot before . . ."

//Well, discounting Mecha Grunty I've never seen a robot before . . . Besides, he's not a NPC, he's a regular player.//

"How do you know something like that?"

//Well, the NPCs in this game can . . . sense each other regardless of who created them. For lack of a better word NPCs give off signals that regular players don't. On top of that, NPCs in The World give off signals unique to them, which is why I tell if there's a virus or a foreign program in the game. //

"Oh, I see . . . hold on you said 'regardless of who created them.' You weren't created by CC Corp's programmers?"

//Oh, no . . . you could say I was created by the system itself.// Azure Kite looked back at Wolfram. Something about the blonde's tone of voice expressed genuine curiosity. //Are you interested? //

Wolfram nodded then shook his head. "Hey! Don't try to distract me! And stop pawing that thing!"

//It's your fault for being distracted, besides, he's not moving.// Azure Kite poked at the robot's head. //I wonder if he's broken . . . Hey! // He turned it's (his) head to the side. //There's something embedded here! It says: 'K-series . . . Robo-Ky . . .? Do you think that's his name? //

"I honestly don't care!" Wolfram tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. "We're supposed to be looking for Yuri and Haseo, not flirting with a machine!"

Azure Kite flinched. //I'm not flirting! I can't flirt with someone who's unconscious! //

"So you'd flirt with him if he weren't unconscious? Wow, Kite you're shallow . . ."

The knight flinched again. //I'm not shallow . . . // He looked like a hurt kitten. //I'm just curious . . . You know the only person I like is Haseo . . . //

"You have a funny way of showing it." Wolfram retorted.

Azure Kite looked dejected. //. . . I'm serious . . . really . . . //

"Then let's get going."

//. . . All right . . . // Azure stood up then looked back. //Hold on . . . // He knelt back down and touched the wind up key. He began to turn it.

"Kite, what the heck are you doing?!" Wolfram's ears and tail bristled.

//Maybe he can help us. //

"Maybe he'll shoot you!" The blond tiger dashed to Azure Kite and tried to pull the AI away. "How do we know he's not dangerous?!"

//How do you know he is dangerous? // Azure Kite turned the key until it stopped. //Bingo!//

The robot's head jerked as his eyes lit up. His squared eyes quirked and he shook his head. "OW . . ." His voice was high pitched and distorted. "WHERE THE HELL AM I?" He snapped.

Azure Kite slipped up and spoke. "You're in a maze . . ." He snapped. All Wolfram heard was a loud growl.

The mechanical man seemed to understand. "I KNOW THAT GENIUS! I WAS WONDERING WHERE I WAS IN THE MAZE!"

"Well we were hoping you'd know."

"WHY WOULD I KNOW THAT, I JUST WOKE UP?"

"I thought robots functioned the minute they were activated."

". . . THAT . . . MAKES SENSE . . . BUT I'M OBVIOUSLY NOT THAT TYPE OF MACHINE!"

"So you can't help us?"

"NO, OF COURSE I NEVER SAID I WANTED TO EITHER."

Wolfram sighed. 'I don't even have to know what Kite's saying to understand that he made a bad decision . . .'

Azure Kite did not feel like letting the loud stranger off the hook. "Well what if I said you have to?"

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"Yes I can, after all you owe me."

"WHAT COULD I POSSBILY OWE A BRAT LIKE YOU!?"

"You owe me your life." Azure Kite replied. "If it weren't for me you'd still be lying there unconscious."

". . ." He stared at the knight as though he wanted to say something witty, but the idea would not come.

". . ." Azure Kite stared back, although he was not hiding the "I've won" look on his face.

However, it was clear that Robo-Ky was not up for losing, even if it meant changing the subject ". . . YOU'RE NOT A GIRL . . ." He said slowly.

Even Wolfram dropped his jaw at the statement; Azure Kite turned an eerie shade of green. "WH-what?! What are you talking about?!"

"YOU'RE NOT A GIRL." He repeated with more certainty.

"What does that have to do with anything?!" Wolfram and Azure Kite demanded at the same time.

"NOTHING, I JUST HAPPENED TO NOTICE . . . JUST LIKE I NOTICED THAT YOU'RE NOT HUMAN EITHER."

"S-So? What's your point?!"

"YOU'VE GOT A DEFECTIVE WAY OF THINKING." He turned his back. "AND I DON'T LIKE TO ASSOCIATE MYSELF WITH DEFECTIVE PEOPLE!"

"I don't care! You still owe me!" The knight flared. "And what do you mean by 'defective'?! I'm not defective!"

"FIRST OF ALL, YOU ARE DEFECTIVE FOR THINKING I OWE YOU BECAUSE YOU CHOSE TO HELP ME; IT WOULD'VE BEEN DIFFERENT IF I HAD ASKED YOU TO HELP, BUT I DIDN'T SO I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING! SECOND, WHAT MALE WORTH HIS MASCULINITY WALKS AROUND IN A WOMAN'S KOMONO?!"

"Shut up! It's not like I wanted to dress up like this!"

"RIIIIIGHT . . . THEN LET ME ASK YOU THIS: DID SOMEONE PUT A GUN TO YOUR HEAD AND FORCE YOU TO PUT IT ON?"

Azure Kite shook his head.

"ARE YOU DOING THIS BECAUSE SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT IS IN DANGER?"

The knight shook his head again.

"ARE YOU OF SOUND MIND AND BODY RIGHT NOW? ARE YOU SANE?"

Azure Kite nodded.

"THEN YOU WANTED TO." Azure Kite opened his mouth, but he was cut off. "AND SAYING IT'S BECAUSE YOU WANT TO HIDE YOUR IDENTITY FROM SOMEONE OR IT'S FOR SOME KIND OF PRANK DOESN'T COUNT. UNLESS YOUR LIFE IS IN IMMENENT DANGER YOU HAD A CHOICE."

//. . . You're annoying . . . // Talking tired the knight out so he resorted to texting.

"I GET THAT A LOT."

//You must get punched a lot too. //

"YUP."

//Then can I punch you? //

"Kite!" Wolfram yelled. "Stop fooling around! We've got more important things to do!"

The mechanical man's eyes flashed. "SO YOU'RE NAME'S KITE?"

//What's it to you? //

"LATER, FOR NOW I'VE A FEW QUESTIONS I NEED TO ASK."

//What?//

"WHAT'S YOUR CHARACTER CLASS?"

//Twin Blade. //

"WHAT'S YOUR RACE?"

//Human.//

"ANY SUBCATEGORIES?"

//I'm an AI . . . Why do you wanna know?!//

"WHEN ON A MISSION I ALWAYS NEED TO KNOW IF I HAVE THE RIGHT TARGET." He suddenly drew both guns and aimed them at Azure Kite. "NOW COME WITH ME!"

Azure Kite reached into his sleeves to clutch the hilts of his swords. Wolfram unsheathed his sword.

The robot narrowed his eyes. "IT'S USELESS TO RESIST!" He fired the first shot close to Azure Kite's ear, taking off some of the knight's hair and cutting his earlobe. "UNLESS YOU WANT THE NEXT SHOT TO BE SOMETHING IMPORTANT I SUGGEST YOU COME WITH ME!"

The blades of the AI's swords shredded his sleeves as he charged forward. The robotic PC shot at him continuously, but all he hit was air. The knight was too fast; all of a sudden he disappeared. As the robotic PC looked all around him, but he couldn't spot the knight; that was, until the knight was right in his face. Even then he managed to grab the knight somewhere to slow him down. He wrapped his arm around the knight's obi. It threw the knight so far off the robot managed to slam him into a nearby wall.

Azure Kite popped up like it was nothing; in fact the robot was in more shock than the knight. 'Why isn't he coming at me?' Azure Kite thought, and then he noticed something:

His obi was still wrapped around the PC's arm; the kimono was on the ground.

.Chapter 5//End

-Once again, this was supposed to end elsewhere, but I kinda like where it is right now. So there's a good and bad side to this: Good news, you have something to hold yourselves over. Bad news: the story just got longer . . . Sorry . . .

-Okay on to our newest guest! Considering I'm gonna upload another chapter involving him I'll save the description until later. For now I'll just say his name really is Robo-Ky and he's from the Guilty Gear franchise.

-Umm, I have no idea why I'm rambling especially when I don't have anything to say this time around; I'm saving everything for the next chapter.

-OH! Wait I found something! Robo-Ky's costume is Dante's from Devil May Cry4! At least I tried to describe it that way . . . –faint- describing costumes is hard! Seriously! Look at this list:

Azure Kite- Geisha

Haseo- Yuri in a vampire costume

Endrance- Günter

Silabus- Kyūdō practitioner

Yuko- the Queen of Hearts

Watanuki- himself

Dōmeki- himself

Himawari- herself

Maru & Moro- Alice and the white rabbit

The Wall Shadow- as itself

Yuri- Lelouch/Zero

Wolfram- himself (Kyo Kara Maoh Halloween poster)

Robo-Ky: Dante (DMC4 version)

-That's really hard work people! Anyway, please drop a line if you liked and I'll see you all later!


	6. Chapter 6

-Whew- this is hard! Fun, but hard, still I love all my readers! I'm doing this for you guys okay?! By the way, I need you some serious honesty from you guys, are you reading this because you want to, or are you reading this to make me happy? Either way it's sweet, but I gotta know . . .

Anyway . . . –fumbles through script- in order to shorten up the summary a bit I'll just use the last lines from the previous chapter that way it feels more like an anime or a game, or even a talk show. So on to the summary! By the way I changed my name!

Azure Kite popped up like it was nothing; in fact the robot was in more shock than the knight. 'Why isn't he coming at me?' Azure Kite thought, and then he noticed something: His obi was still wrapped around the PC's arm; the kimono was on the ground.

**Innocent Atrocities**

**By: Gin van Geovanni**

**Chapter 6**

Robo-Ky's jaw dropped, some of the screws in his jaw even loosened. His face turned radioactive red as steam spewed from the top of his head. There was a sudden explosion and he passed out.

_//What was that all about? // _Azure Kite mused as he picked up his kimono. He turned to Wolfram, but he appeared to be frozen. _//Hello?// _Azure Kite waved his hands in front of Wolfram. _//What's up? //_

"Kite . . ." Wolfram chocked. "What . . . what are you _wearing?!_"

_//I'm wearing a costume.// _Azure Kite replied in a no-nonsense sort of manner.

"You call _that_ a costume?! Kite, that's worse than what you originally had on!"

Azure Kite pulled down the lacy hem of a short sleeveless black dress. He then adjusted a thick black leather collar around his neck as well as the leather straps around his shoulders. These straps were attached to a red a corset with black rose thorns down its sides. Matching bands were wrapped tightly around his arms all the way up to the elbow. There were black bows wrapped around the ends. There were also small black bat wings protruding from the back of the corset. Buckled up to his knees were tight fitting leather boots. A lacy garter was remotely visible around his left thigh.

The AI carefully sat down and pulled the garter up slightly. _//I suppose, but do you really think it would make a difference if I put this back on? // _He held up the shredded remains of his kimono. It could barely be considered a piece of clothing let alone a kimono.

Wolfram shook his head, but there was still doubt in his expression.

_//Besides, look at what this outfit did to him. // _He indicated to a fallen Robo-Ky. _//He's out like a broken light, its quiet an improvement, don't you think? //_

"I suppose . . . but for your sake he'd better not wake up."

_//What's he gonna do to me?!// _Azure Kite shrugged and shook his head.

"He'll probably bug you to death about that outfit."

_//So what if he does? That gives me a reason to attack him, and not hold back. // _Azure Kite smiled ominously and walked away. The dress swayed lightly with each step he took.

Wolfram slapped his forehead groaned. 'I can't take this anymore . . .' He thought.

All of a sudden, Azure Kite stopped short. Wolfram ran to him. "Hey, Kite are you all right?!"

_//I think so. // _He clutched his stomach then shook his head. _//On second thought, no I'm not . . . //_

"What's wrong?!"

_//I don't know! // _The AI's cheeks tinged blue.

"MAYBE I CAN TELL YOU."

Both Wolfram and Azure Kite jumped. 'He's supposed to be unconscious!' they thought.

"WELL ARE YOU TWO GONNA SIT THERE WITH THOSE DUMB EXPRESSIONS OR ARE YOU GONNA LET ME TAKE A GUESS?"

_//How do I know you won't try to drag me off to wherever you want me to go?!//_

"IT'S NOT INTERESTING THAT WAY, BESIDES, YOU OWE ME A DECENT BATTLE! FOR THAT TO HAPPEN YOU NEED TO BE IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE. WHETHER OR NOT THAT WILL HELP IS BEYOND ME."

_//I really don't like you. //_

"SO?"

_//Do something perverted and I'll kill you. //_

"OKAY." Robo-Ky knelt down to Azure Kite's level and gave him as flat of a look as possible. Then he scratched his head. Then he simply stared.

Azure Kite growled. _//Stop that! //_

When the AI growled Robo-Ky thought he heard something odd. He thought about it for a bit then snapped his fingers. 'I GOT IT!'

Without warning he reached out and pulled at some of the laces on Azure Kite's corset then slid back like mercury. He made it just far back enough that Azure Kite couldn't reach him when he lunged at him. When the AI made a second attempt he found himself gasping at air. 'What in the world . . .?' He thought bewildered.

"I THOUGHT SO! YOU'RE CORSET WAS TIED TOO TIGHT!" Robo-Ky shook his head. "FOR A CROSSDRESSER, YOU'RE NOT VERY GOOD AT IT."

_//I've had it with you! // _Azure Kite raised his right arm. A fragmented gold bracelet began to glow faintly around his wrist. Robo-Ky drew his sword; morphed into bazooka. The bracelet around Azure Kite's wrist brightened as Robo-Ky took aim. And then . . .

Azure Kite was tackled from the side. At the same time Robo-Ky appeared to be hit by a bolt of lightning.

'Ouch . . . who did that?!' Azure Kite forced himself to sit up and was met with two angry crimson eyes. _//Um hi . . . Haseo . . . //_

"Don't you 'Hi' me Kite! I saw that! You were about to use Data Drain weren't you?!"

_//Maybe . . . //_

Haseo raised an eyebrow then groaned "And to think that's how I figured out it was you . . ."

Azure Kite looked confused. _//What are you talking about? //_

"You were about to use Data Drain."

The knight's eye twitched. _//That's the only way you could tell? //_

"Yup that's about it."

A strange noise emitted from Azure Kite's throat. _//Haseo . . . //_

"Yeah?"

_//You're a . . . //_

"BASTARD, HOW DARE YOU SHOOT SOMEONE IN THE BACK?!" Robo-Ky shouted.

He appeared o be talking to a rather human looking version of himself. His short flyaway hair was a light goldenrod. He had electric blue eyes and smooth peachy skin. In a strong contrast to Robo-Ky's harsh crimson outfit, this man's was a cool shade of blue. His trenchcoat was dark blue with braided thorns running down the button s all the way to the hem. Silver buttons traced down from the elbows of his sleeves all the way down to the wrists of his tan leather fingerless gloves. His boots appeared to be made from the same material with straps around the calves. Underneath the coat was a blue vested suit with the pants tucked into his boots. Around his neck was a light blue cravat. He had a sparking katana right hand. He spoke in a voice that fit his youthful appearance. "You were about to open fire on a woman, and that is unacceptable!"

"NOWHERE IN THIS AREA DO I SEE A WOMAN."

"Can you _not _be yourself for a few minutes?"

"I'M DEAD SERIOUS . . ." The robotic clone stopped mid-sentence. "YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FLASHY 'S AN M' QUEEN OVER THERE?" He pointed at Kite with laughter in is voice.

"Stop being rude!"

"HEY KITE! KY THINKS YOU'RE A GIRL!"

Azure Kite turned a faint shade of red. 'Shut up.' He hissed inwardly.

Ky looked confused. "What are you going on about now, Robo? I think I know a woman when I see one."

"THERE WAS THAT ONE KID WITH THE YO-YOS AND THE GIANT TEDDY BEAR. YOU COULDN'T TELL THAT HE WASN'T A GIRL."

"H-he was a child!" Ky flushed.

"SO WHAT, HE WAS STILL A BOY."

"Stop attempting to distract me! What happened then has nothing to do with now!"

"YES IT DOES BECAUSE YOU JUST MADE THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN."

"Pardon?" Ky's eyes widened.

"He's right, Ky." Haseo cut in, he now had one of his hands in Azure Kite's hair; this seemed to calm the volatile knight down.

"Seriously?" Ky asked.

"Yup."Haseo replied.

"And you know this?" Ky questioned.

"That's right." Haseo began to play around with Azure Kite's hair.

"Oh . . ." Ky appeared to deflate. He stared at Haseo for a while then at Azure Kite then at Haseo's hand in Azure Kite's hair. His hair bristled, frizzed, and then fell flat. Then his body swayed as though his spine turned into jello. All of a sudden his eyes lost focus.

Robo-Ky snorted and shook his head. He turned his hand into a fan and waved it in Ky's face. "DON'T MIND HIM . . ." He said drily. "HE HAS A BLACK AND WHITE CONCEPT OF A RELATIONSHIP, NOT TO MENTION HE'S NEVER SEEN TWO GUYS INTERACT LIKE YOU TWO. IT'S LIKE PICKING UP A PEBBLE AND A BOULDER SUDDENLY ROLLS OVER YOU. IF HE CAN GET OVER THE SHOCK YOU WON'T EVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT AGAIN."

Wolfram shrugged. "This is a strange world; the people here are shocked by the most trivial things."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"

"There are just other things in the Great Demon Kingdom that require more attention; relationship-wise it's more about _loyalty_ than anything else." He sighed. 'Speaking of which where is Yuri?'

'Living in the Great Demon Kingdom sounds ideal . . .' Azure Kite thought. 'I probably wouldn't have to do all this had I been there.' He noticed Robo-Ky staring at him. _//What? Why are you staring at me like that? //_

"THERE'S A STRANGE VIBE AROUND YOU . . ."

_//Vibe, you say? . . . // _He ripped the hairpiece out of his hair again. With a swift flick of his wrist the sharp hairpiece whistled by into a nearby wall.

"It appears your rude habits have filtered out onto your target . . ." The owner of the voice stepped out into a somewhat visible spot. Azure Kite craned his head back to see a man with a teardrop shaped head and rather small, pointed ears. His short black hair fell flat on his head while the long white-tipped ends of it grazed his knuckles. Frameless glasses sloped over the bridge of his long nose. These glasses magnified his slanted black-lined eyes. His black-lined lips were pulled back into a sharp smirk (whether or not it was intentional is another story). He was dressed in a black lab coat with a high collar. The coat was lined with a bronze colored material. Bronze-buckled belts were strapped tightly around his waist.

'I didn't even feel his presence until Robo pointed it out . . . who is this guy . . .?'

Robo-Ky paid him no mind. Instead he spoke to the strange man. "UGH . . . WHAT'RE _YOU_ DOING HERE? DIDN'T I TELL YOU I CAN DO THIS ON MY OWN?!"

The man shrugged. "You know how our employer is. He's impatient, and the more he wants something the more irate he becomes when he does not get it."

"THEN HE SHOULD'VE DRAGGED HIS BUTT DOWN HERE AND FOUND KITE ON HIS OWN!"

"Unfortunately, he is under certain restrictions and could not make it, that's why he appointed his bodyguard to do it for him." he sighed. "I could've sworn I programmed you to remember these things."

'Programmed?' Azure Kite thought.

"Programmed?" Haseo echoed. ". . . Hold on is this the robot you were talking about?"

"You know this guy?!" Wolfram questioned.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I helped him and Ky out with one of those wall monsters a few moments ago. It was his idea to stay as a group because we were looking for the same people. Not only that but the one he was looking for was looking for the one _I _was looking for." Haseo placed both hands on Azure Kite's shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. "You have to admit it was pretty convenient."

Azure Kite nodded.

Wolfram looked displeased. "What about Yuri?! He was with you when the maze reformatted!"

"Well . . ." Haseo looked sheepish. ". . . He was attacked earlier; he said not to worry and that he'll catch up . . . I knew it'd worry you, but . . ."

"How far away is he?!" Wolfram demanded.

"I carried him for a short while, he should be down that way . . ." All it took was for Haseo to indicate the direction.

Wolfram was off in a flash. After a few moments Yuri's voice could be heard. "Hey, cut it out! Put me down!"

"Calm down and stop making a production out of this you wimp!"

"Then put me down, and stop calling me that!"

"Stop squirming!!!!" A loud crash could be heard. "Now look what you did!"

"What _I _did? What did I do?!" Yuri demanded.

"You moved!" Wolfram scolded. "Now we have to start all over!"

"You don't have to…" Yuri was cut off by Wolfram apparently picking him up. When they were in everyone else's line of vision it was clear that Yuri was not half as disagreeable as he sounded. His arms were even tight around Wolfram's neck. It was obvious that Wolfram was having a bit of a difficult time, he even used his tail as an extra support; however he was not bothered by this in the least.

Azure Kite looked at them. The strange professor sat butterfly style next to him. "Envy is an unbecoming trait for you."

The knight scrambled behind Haseo. _//Don't do that! And what do you mean by 'envy'?!//_

"It is quite obvious on your face."

_//I don't know what you're talking about// _Azure Kite lied.

"NO USE ARGUING WITH HIM." Robo-Ky cut in. He knelt down as opposed to sitting. "THIS MAN IS A VOYURE OF THE WORST SORT. SADLY, IF HE SAYS YOU'RE LOOKING JEALOUS OF SOMEONE, YOU ARE."

_//But I'm NOT! //_

"Does looking at us bother you Kite?" Yuri asked.

_//Well . . . I wouldn't say it bothers me . . . //_

"Oh come on Kite!" Wolfram scolded. "You like Haseo, and he knows it. Haseo likes you and you know it. On top of that he's _sitting right next to you!_" Wolfram stamped his feet angrily. "What more could you possibly want?!"

_//If I knew that for sure I wouldn't be in this maze would I? // _Even as he gave this reply he looked at Haseo.

"Kite . . . you're making me mad . . ."

_//I guess I am a lot like you . . . I'm selfish . . . I want Haseo all to me . . . and that's just not happening fast enough . . . //_

"It would seem he was right . . ." The professor interjected. " . . . You do need a bit of a push to admit what you want . . ."

Everyone except Robo-Ky and Ky gave him a "what are you talking about?" look.

"As I said before my employer talked as though he knew you quite well, and even though he is unable to look for you personally, he ordered that Robo-Ky and I bring you to him." As an afterthought he added. "Ky is here as an . . . insurance policy, just in case his 'clone' could not complete the task."

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHY HE'D THINK THAT!" Robo-Ky shouted indignantly. "I'M THE MOST COMPLETE PERFECT THING HE'S EVER CREATED!"

"And you have no idea how much that scares me . . ." the Professor pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Anyway, orders are orders . . ." He took one step forward then about three steps back.

Haseo had both arms wrapped around Azure Kite. His expression dared anyone to get close to him.

.**Chapter//End**

* * *

Well this chapter is . . . long . . . to be honest I got lazy then I just got writer's block. That's about the only excuse I have. Also if you get lost at any given time just let me know.

Now because I think I promised you some character background in this talk show here goes:

-First up is Ky-Kiske, one of the main (?) characters in the Guilty Gear fighting game franchise. He is the sort of character that gets into trouble for existing. What makes it worse is that he is a likeable character. Another flaw he seems to have is that his way of thinking is rigid. That bit about him getting over seeing Azure Kite in a corset was far off, to be honest he would have flat out kept thinking that Azure Kite was a girl, but hey, it seemed more fun to add the gray area.

-Second, the character I kept shoving in your face, Robo-Ky, the defective robot. He was meant to be a Ky double, but that does not add up for two reasons. First, he looks nothing like Ky especially in the face; second he is the polar opposite of Ky in every single way. On top of that it is difficult to take him seriously. In the games he is a genuine comic relief character, in other words the perfect person to drive Azure Kite insane. That and neither one of them are human.

-And finally, that oddball professor. He is the man responsible for creating Robo-Ky. In the game they argue. A lot. On top of that, he has tried to destroy Robo-Ky, not only did he fail, but he almost died in the attempt. To add to it Robo-Ky saved his life. Crazy, no?

-So, now even Haseo is fed up with this game of Silly-Go-Round, and just who is this 'employer'? I won't tell . . . yet.


	7. Update Chapter

Hey everybody . . . it's me Gin van Geovanni.

I've seen some authors do this thing where they have an announcement in the middle of a chapter and whatnot, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

First of all, I haven't abandoned my stories; well not _all _of them at least some of them yeah I have. Repose isn't one of them; in fact I'm in the process of typing it now. I'm also working on Innocent Atrocities; I have a new story angle, but I need some help finding info on Code Lyoko to really pull it together then I'll most likely cut it short for a bit. Either way, those will be done soon enough. It'll take a bit because I'm taking commissions on Gaia right now, but it'll be done so just hold out a bit.

As I keep on saying I'm going to do a Matrix like storyline using the .Hack characters and settings. I'm planning on using characters from both // IMOQ and //G.U. However, it's not going to be a crossover it's going to flat out be a .Hack fic using motifs from the Matrix. I may need help. There's also going to be a summer tie-in to Innocent Atrocities.

Well, that's all I've got to say for now, see ya'll later.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys, I know I've taken a long time to do this, partially because I wanted to do a triple post, but mostly because I lost my manuscript! I wrote the darn thing and then POOF it went missing. Anyway, here we go!

**Innocent Atrocities**

**Chapter 8**

**By: Gin van Geovanni**

Haseo's expression silenced everyone near him; even Azure Kite had to admit he was a bit frightening. "You're not coming _near _him you understand?!"

Robo-Ky stepped in front of the Professor. "DON'T MOVE." He instructed, but it was unclear as to whom he was speaking to. From behind the robot's blade the Professor spoke slowly. ". . . You misunderstand my friend, if it were a request then I would not be here; however, this is an order and if I do not fulfill my mission, well it won't be pretty _and _you may never see Kite again."

"We'll see about that!" Haseo wanted to charge, but he did not want to leave Azure Kite's side. He drew his scythe.

"The air's getting tense . . ." Wolfram spoke in a pensive tone.

"I know we should stop them!" Yuri squirmed.

"You're in no condition to do anything!"

"I don't care! Let me down!"

"I'm not letting you get hurt!" Before Yuri could raise further protest, Wolfram added. "You're not getting into any trouble without me!" He carried Yuri in between Robo-Ky and Haseo and allowed him to stand. He also stood quite close in case someone decided to jump.

"Calm yourselves." Yuri spoke in a firm voice. "I know that tonight has been a stressful night, some of use just want it to end . . ." He looked directly at Azure Kite. "Some of us are wondering when the thing we desire the most is going to become ours." He turned to Haseo. "And then there are some of us who are trapped within the selfish desires of another . . ." He eyed Robo-Ky. "However; that is no reason to _lose _the ability to reason. There must be a way that all of this can be resolved without having to defect to violence."

"Perhaps . . ." The Professor began slowly. ". . . There is a way to complete this mission _and _keep them attached at the hip . . . I wonder . . ."

"WELL THEN WE'D LOVE TO HEAR IT!" Robo-Ky snapped. "_NOW_ WOULD BE AN IDEAL TIME!"

"How many times must I tell you to not shout so much?"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT MY VOICE IS STUCK AT THIS PITCH! ANYWAY, WHAT'S YOUR IDEA, GENIUS?!"

"You could take them both. After all he said to bring Kite, but he did not say to bring him alone . . . He may need him"

Yuri nodded slowly. "Haseo, would it put your mind at ease if you could go with him?"

"No. it would 'put my mind at ease' if I knew who this person was! It would also put my mind at ease if those two would stop talking like Kite isn't here! Let him make up his own damn mind!"

'Haseo . . .' Azure Kite smiled slightly. He stood up slowly and placed his hand on Haseo's shoulder. _//Haseo . . . are you sure you don't mind? I want to go out of sheer curiosity, but you don't have to go if you don't want to. //_

"Are you crazy?! There's no way I'm letting you go anywhere with that _suspicious_ duo."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SUSPICIOUS?!"

"You, you twisted pile of crap!"

Robo-Ky's head began to emit steam. "I DARE YOU TO REPEAT THAT, YOU FETISHY FREAK!"

The Professor massaged his temples. "Hey, Robo, stop hollering like that, and act with a little more maturity."

"I'LL YELL AS MUCH AS I WANT, WHENEVER I WANT, AND AT WHOMEVER I WANT! DEAL WITH IT!"

He groaned. "I don't know what you're getting so bent out of shape for . . . you are suspicious. You are a suspicious robot, created by a suspicious man, for a suspicious company, and for suspicious reasons. Not only that, but you're out of date, defective, and have an abnormal obsession with well-endowed women. To top it all off, you're easily distracted. Face it; Haseo has every right to call your suspicious."

'Ouch . . . chewed out by his own creator . . .' Everyone else in the area thought.

For a moment, Robo-Ky looked as though he was going to say something, but he clammed up instead. All of a sudden he let a liberal amount of steam spout out of his mouth. "SO YOU'RE AGREEING TO COME QUIETLY, RIGHT?!" He snapped at Haseo and Azure Kite.

They jolted at his sudden harsh tone then nodded.

"THEN GET OVER HERE." He folded his arms. "MY . . . ASSOCIATE . . . HACKED MY CHARATER SO THAT NO MATTER WHERE I AM I CAN TRANSPORT TO WHERE HE IS. ANYONE NEAR ME CAN GO TO THE SAME PLACE."

Azure Kite walked up to him, the knight's hand was gripping Haseo's tightly. _//So let me get this straight . . . All I have to do is stand near you and I'll end up wherever this person is? //_

"I'M NOT REPEATING MYSELF."

_//No need to get snappy.//_

"UGH . . ." He rolled up his right sleeve and turned something on his wrist. In a flash the four of them were gone.

Azure Kite and the Professor were the only two to land on their feet. However, Azure Kite was knocked to the ground by someone wearing what felt like a lot of metal. "Stitches!" The person shouted while hugging him tightly.

'Huh?!' For a moment, Azure Kite was confused then his mind slowed enough to think. 'There's only one person who can get away with calling me that . . .' He replied. _//Amelda, that's you isn't it? //_

Amelda backed away and gave a mock bow. "You guessed it!" He sat up, causing the chains on his chocker to jingle. His blood red hair stood out even in the dimly lit maze. He wore a belted top that barely grazed his midriff. It was covered by a long battle ripped coat with leather belts around the neck and waist. The arms of the coat were almost completely made of chainmail. His hands were covered by black fingerless gloves which showed off his black nails. There was a bluish silver ring on his left ring finger; a symbol resembling a dragon was engraved on it. Loose fitting black jeans with chains around the waist, thigh, and leg fell over heavily armored boots. Upon closer inspection, the chains on his chocker lead to something.

Azure Kite could not help but follow the trail with his eyes, but he could not make out what it led to. _//Amelda . . . why did you feel the need to hide your identity from me? //_

"Well . . ." Amelda looked sheepish. "I wanted to see you today, and I knew that if I asked you'd come, but . . ."

_//Wait a minute . . . you didn't bring _him_ with you, did you?!// _Azure Kite bristled.

"Of course I did." Amelda tugged the chain, bringing a tall man into view. The chain was attached to a chocker around his own neck. To avoid chocking he seated himself next to Amelda.

Very similar to Yuri he wore a helmet; however his helmet appeared to be a white dragon's head. Long waist length hair flowed from the back of the helmet. He also wore a long coat with tight black sleeves. The sleeves disappeared into wide-brimmed gloves with metal spikes on the knuckles. There was a tight-fitting red top underneath the coat as well as pair of fitted black pants. The pants were held up by a black leather belt with a silver buckle. He took off his helmet to reveal the face of Seto Kaiba.

Azure Kite's hair frizzed angrily. _//Amelda!!! Why'd you bring him with you?!//_

"Wake Haseo up and I'll tell you everything."

The first thing Azure Kite noticed was that Haseo was still face down on the ground, poked at him until he stirred awake. All he could see were the knight's pale, smooth thighs. Haseo's entire face turned red.

_//Haseo?! A- are you allright?!// _Azure Kite was completely clueless.

Haseo nodded and attempted to look Azure Kite in the eye. His line of vision barely came up to Azure Kite's collarbone. He could have sworn his nose bled a little in real life when the knight leaned foreward to touch his forehead.

_//Are you sure? You're burning up and your face is bright red . . .! hey have you been playing too long?! Do you need to stop and take a break or something?!//_

"Oh no, I'm fine! Honest!" Haseo replied in a high pitched voice.

Something about his tone of voice tipped Azure Kite off to the _real_ reason behind his red complexion. Out of curiosity he looked down.

Then hit the rogue on the head.

"Hey!" Haseo snapped. "It's not my fault!"

Azure Kite gave him a looked that demanded to know who was at fault.

"Well, it's not my fault your outfit is falling apart!" He blurted out. "And even if it weren't I could still . . . eh . . ."

_//What?! What is it?!// _Azure Kite demanded.

"Nothing!" Haseo lied hastily. "It was nothing at all!"

_//Haseo . . .// _Irritated, Azure Kite snatched Haseo by the collar and lifted him off the ground. _//You better tell me or-// _He blinked twice then dropped Haseo. 'He can't mean . . .'

'Haseo. Run. Run while he's actually confused.' Amelda and Seto thought in unison.

Haseo made to stand up . . .

Then he saw Azure Kite smirk. _//Are you curious?//_

Behind Azure Kite Amelda attempted to singal 'no!' over and over again to Haseo. The knight genuinely wanted to know Haseo's response so he blocked Amelda from Haseo's view. It caused his skirt to flutter. _//The choice is all yours.// _He taunted.

Haseo swallowed then nodded slowly.

Then all he saw was the bottom of Azure Kite's boot.

* * *

**.Chapter 8// End**

Oh Haseo, how I love to beat you up!


	9. Chapter 9

To be honest I just cut chapter 8 short. Thanks to Chirp-Chirp for the end of the previous chapter. I'm not kidding there's a picture she drew where Azure Kite's kicking. It's below him so I thought it would be funny if it was from Haseo's perspective. Anyway, let's move on to the rest.

And no, Haseo's not dead.

**Innocent Atrocities**

**Chapter 9**

Amelda pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I warned him . . ." He muttered.

Seto shook his head and produced for headsets. Two of them had an extra attachment to them that glowed faintly. These two he handed to Azure Kite. As he passed another headset to Amelda he said. "I have been experimenting with this world's virtual reality aspects; the 'reality' aspect in particular." He put the last set on his own head.

Azure Kite commented. _//You've been practicing on more efficient ways to transfer one's mind into the game. //_

"Correct."

_//What does that have to do with me? //_

"I've run many tests on human subjects (including myself), and the transfer is both smooth and effective. I believe it is time to see if the reverse can be said for an AI."

'Only Kaiba would think something like that. . .' Azure Kite thought. _//That still doesn't answer my question, why me? //_

"For one reason or another, Amelda wants to use you. I told him that it may be a bad idea to use you without testing it on someone else. However, he said that your needs come first this time, and it is painful trying to convince him to change his mind."

_//Why? //_

"He's standing less than two feet away from you; ask him yourself, and be sure to wake Haseo up, any human would do, but I had a feeling that he would muscle his way into being by your side."

_//You need a human subject? //_

Seto nodded then turned his back. He drew up a touch panel and began to type at what was displayed there.

Azure kite turned to Amelda and Haseo; he pushed Amelda aside and began to shake Haseo awake. "Ow . . ."

"Welcome to the land of the living." Amelda remarked.

Haseo massaged his temples. "Glad . . . to be back . . . now if only my headache didn't follow me . . . You almost broke my real nose!" He pouted.

_//Be grateful that I didn't! // _Azure Kite snapped.

"It's not my fault; how many times do I have to tell you that?!"

_//That's no excuse! Next time try _looking me in the eye_! Anyway, put this on, you'll need it. // _He handed Haseo the other headset. Then he turned to Amelda. _//Kaiba said that it was your idea to use me as an NPC subject in this whole 'transfer' business, why? //_

"Well, I did promise you that I'd help you out four months ago."

Azure Kite's face turned red. _//I may have told you too much that day . . . //_

"What? What did he tell you?!" Haseo demanded.

Without waiting for Azure Kite to reply, Amelda said. "Well, Kite seemed to like you an awful lot, and when I asked him about it he told me that he was feeling a little . . . confused about it. The thing is he sounded so _passionate_ about it that I knew he wasn't confused in the least." Amelda folded his arms. "Out of curiosity, I decided to find out what was going on in your mind."

"I remember that time . . ." Haseo said rather airily. "You slapped your forehead . . ."

"Yes because hearing you talk about Kite was almost like hearing you talk about a girl you can't have. It was both cute and silly." Amelda shook his head slowly. "You two were so hopeless I had to help out. I happened to notice that you guys' friends smother you; seriously, Haseo, I commend you for even being able to breathe! It seems like you always have time for someone or something that isn't Kite, and that's just wrong. And don't think _you're_ off the hook, Kite!" Amelda glared at Azure Kite. "Sometimes I wonder about you. You always put Aura before everything else. Don't get me wrong it's good that you care about her –she is your sister of sorts- still you've got to learn when to take care of yourself. Then again you could let someone else do it." He placed a hand on Haseo's shoulder. "You pick."

Azure Kite seemed at a loss then his face turned red.

"C'mon jus tell him what you want." Both Amelda and Haseo smiled sweetly. "You know you want to."

Azure Kite's face reddened further and he turned his head. _//. . . You're more embarrassing than usual . . . //_

Amelda replied. "You're only saying that 'because you know Haseo likes your outfit, so it's hard for you to speak up."

_//Shut up, Amelda just SHUT UP! // _Azure Kite covered his face with his hands

Amelda pretended to ignore him. "I spent so long designing that outfit; if I remember correctly I made a kimono too," He sighed. "I wish I could've seen you in it."

_//Trust me you didn't miss . . . // _Azure Kite paused. _//WHAT DID YOU SAY?!//_

"I can't believe you didn't figure that out." Amelda looked mildly surprised. "This is CC Corp / KaibaCorp collaboration. And just like with the summer event, I donated the designs for the costumes and the areas. Seto made it happen though."

Haseo looked unconvinced. "There's no way in hell he'd wear that voluntarily, you'd have to force him to wear it."

"I know that." Amelda smiled. "That's why I left it to Shino. I told her to make sure that Kite got one of those outfits. I never would've imagined that he'd use _both_ of them. Then again I never thought that you, Haseo would go missing, and that Kite would be bold enough to fill your shoes while you were gone."

_//I wanted to help Haseo, who was too bogged down at the time to help at the shop . . . I never thought that Shino would ask me to model, much less in girls' outfits.//_

"Perhaps she thought that you would just go with it after modeling for that long. I guess she didn't count on your undeniable stubbornness."

_//It didn't matter since there was nothing left in the shop for me to buy . . . once . . .everything . . . had been . . . sold out . . .//_

Amelda laughed. "And who would've thought Shino didn't have to trick you to do it, you'd end up doing it yourself!"

Azure Kite blushed. _//What possessed you to think that I'd _like_ those outfits?!// // _

"Well, you wanted to get Haseo's attention, and I designed them to. The one you have on now was meant to tease Haseo's inner pervert, and the kimono . . . well there are very few guys that I know that don't like girls wearing kimonos."

_//I'M NOT A GIRL!!!//_

"Well, with your body type it was hard to tell."

Azure Kite growled.

"Aw C'mon, Kite it worked didn't it?" Amelda pushed Haseo toward Azure Kite; the knight caught him just before he fell over. _//That's not the point Amelda! There had to be a better way than this! //_

What Seto is setting up for right now is technically the 'better way' but the other way was much more safe and amusing."

_//Safe?//_

"Yes, this is potentially dangerous for the both of you, especially if something goes wrong."

"HOLD IT!" Haseo shouted and grabbed Azure Kite by the midsection. "You're not putting him in any unnecessary danger!"

Seto looked up from his work. "I haven't the foggiest of a clue as to what type of hacks you've dealt with in the past, but I assure you I'm not putting Kite in any unnecessary danger." He looked back down and added. "If anything happens to him, it is no fault of mine."

"You smug bastard, how dare you say my Kite's defective?!" Haseo blurted out.

'_My_ Kite, is he serious?' Azure Kite, Amelda, and Seto thought in unison. Seto blinked. "I said no such thing; I merely said that there was nothing wrong with my system."

"You still implied that there's something wrong with him!"

"Will you quit being such a petulant child about this, Haseo, you're embarrassing yourself."

"Just wait till I get the all-clear to beat you . . ."

"You'll have to put that fantasy on hold."

Haseo snorted. "Aren't you done yet?!"

"After I clear this small annoyance, you will be good to go."

"Annoyance?" Amelda looked curious. "What kind of annoyance?"

"I'm looking into it now, but so far, I've yet to determine what it is."

'Wonderful . . . yet another roadblock . . .' Azure Kite fumed. 'Is anything good going to come out of this?!'

"Kite, don't stand there with that disgusted look on your face." Seto demanded. "Get over here and make something happen."

Azure Kite bristled, but obeyed. He peered at the now flickering panel. _//I'm not sure what I can do about it . . . maybe the bracelet will come in handy, but there is only so much it can do . . . On top of that there is an even higher risk factor when the technology is different than what it's accustomed to.//_

"KaibaCorp technology is compatible with CC Corp's; therefore there should be no problem."

The knight nodded. _//All right then, here goes-//_

"Wait a second!" Haseo interjected. "Are you sure about this? What if you can't handle it?"

_//Then I just can't. //_

"That's not a good enough excuse anymore, especially when you're standing right in front of me!"

_//Haseo, this whole time you've been . . . looking out for me . . . Now I finally have a chance to help you out, and believe me, I'm taking it.// _He held his arm over the control panel, the bracelet around his arm began to glow gold.

Haseo looked nervous; however something briefly caught his attention. 'My headset's buzzing . . .' He nudged Amelda. "Hey . . . do you hear this faint buzzing sound?"

Amelda looked at him strangely. "No . . . Seto, Kite, do you guys hear anything?"

Seto shook his head while Azure Kite briefly nodded. "Maybe you two should take the headsets off." Amelda suggested.

_//I have a bad feeling about that . . . // _Azure Kite replied. _//For all we know this sound is a warning, and since you and Kaiba can't hear it I think we'll keep them on and tell you if something's up. //_

"That seems like a fair enough reason."

Haseo inched closer to Azure Kite, he could not help it, and the knight's physical state was a constant source of worry. Aside from the noise in his ear he was now seeing things. It was a black cloud to be precise. "Kite . . . I know you can see that mass coming from the panel . . ."

_//Haseo, I've got this. //_

As the mass increased in size, so did Haseo's voice. "Kite! Back off!"

Seto whispered to Amelda. "I have the emergency log-out on standby . . . you may want to log out ahead of time, though."

"I'll stay and tell you anything that happens you go."

Seto hesitated for a brief second then nodded and logged out. The very second he did, Azure Kite's bracelet turned black and the surrounding area flickered. Azure Kite himself began to flicker like a broken light. Haseo panicked and grabbed his arm.

Then everything went black.

* * *

**.Chapter 9// End**

And here's where things get interesting . . . I hope . . . see you later in the next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

I think I'm gonna have a mental breakdown right now. My entire manuscript went missing POOF! And my memory span is only slightly longer than a goldfish's. Well there's nothing like starting over . . . here goes the beginning of the 'free-hand'

**Innocent Atrocities**

**Chapter 10**

**By Gin van Geovanni**

_**/// KaibaCorp Computer Lab #06 ///**_

Amelda sat up in his seat. He groaned "What happened . . . I know I told Seto that I'd explain anything he missed, but I'm not sure I can . . ." He removed his M2D and stood up. He crossed into a larger part of the lab. Seto sat in front of one of the computer screens; he stared at it intently with his hands crossed beneath his chin. The screen had nothing displayed on it except for two blinking red dots. Amelda seated himself next to Seto. "I guess that forced logout worked. I know I didn't log out on my own."

"You fell unconscious shortly after. Are you all right?" Even though he did not look Amelda in the eye, the worry in Seto's eyes was quite evident, and it was not aimed at the screen.

". . . Um . . . yeah . . . yeah I am . . ." Amelda scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

All of a sudden Mokuba entered the room. "Why were we all suddenly ejected from the game, Seto?" He inquired. "Did something happen in the maze?

Seto's expression returned to the composed, calculating look he had before Amelda entered the room. He turned back to the screen. "Yes, but I did not expect it to affect the entire area . . ."

"Wait, so you just forced everyone out of the game because you were paranoid?"

"Yes, I had a bad feeling about what was going on before I left."

"Good thing too, there was some seriously odd stuff going on, and all of it happened in a few seconds!" Amelda added.

"What happened?"

"Well, after you logged out, Kite's arm turned black, Haseo grabbed him, and then . . . I think they vanished . . ." Amelda looked slightly confused. "Although I'm not sure considering I lost consciousness."

Seto shook his head. "They may have vanished; in fact, they may not be in the World at all."

"What? How do you know?"

Seto nodded in the direction of the screen. "Their headsets are synchronized with one another therefore whatever happens to one affects the other."

"That's why Haseo heard the same sound as Kite, their headsets are connected . . ." Amelda said under his breath.

"They are also fitted with trackers, that way if Kite ended up in another location by accident, it would still be possible to find him. That would be the case if he ended up in another part of the World or even another virtual world. The set would stop working if he were in the real world; however if that was the case he would either end up in this lab or Haseo's room."

"Judging by the screen it's safe to say that the former happened." Amelda said.

Seto nodded. "It is also safe to say that Haseo is with him, or at least in the same place."

" . . . Then why is the rest of the screen black?" Mokuba inquired. "There's a map for every possible layout in this lab, but nothing is actually showing their location."

"You have a point, Mokuba; this lab _does_ show every possible map layout you can think of. However, this only shows the maps in the World."

"So that black screen means that . . . They aren't in the World at all!" Amelda concluded.

_**/// Lyoko: Desert Sector ///**_

Haseo sat up and massaged his forehead. ". . . Oh . . . where am I . . .?" He squinted under the sun's light. He could see nothing but the sand ahead. "Am I . . . still in the World . . .?" As he sat up, he realized that someone was missing. "Kite!" He shouted. "Where are you?! "His voice echoed into the distance then was carried off into the wind. He jumped up and shouted Azure Kite's name again, and then he heard a faint groan. "Kite?!" He turned around to see the knight on the ground. He was covered in scratches and cuts. There was a thick black ring around his right wrist and a strange, dark fluid dripped from the corner of his mouth. Haseo wiped the fluid away. "Hey, hey, HEY, get up; I know you can hear me!" Haseo shouted at Azure Kite because he was unsure of where to touch him.

Azure Kite groaned again and opened his eyes slowly.

"Kite, you're awake!" Haseo could not help but smile. His expression became concerned. "C-can you move?"

Azure Kite shook his head slowly.

"I see . . . then I'll carry you." Haseo replied in a no-nonsense tone.

Azure Kite's eyes widened and shook his head weakly. Despite what he replied earlier he forced himself to pull his legs closer to his body.

"I'll have none of that!" Haseo hoisted Azure Kite up onto his back. "Besides, I already saw _that _lacey display." The moment he said this he could feel the heat coming from Azure Kite's cheeks. He laughed lightly. "Calm down, I feel flattered that you'd dress up so far for me."

Azure Kite wrapped his arms around Haseo's neck –so he would not slip off- and buried his face into his hair. _"Shut up . . ."_ He muttered. _"Stupid Haseo . . ."_

Haseo froze. He almost dropped the knight.

"_What's wrong?"_

"Kite . . . you're . . . talking . . . How are you able to talk?"

"_Oh, I've been practicing for a while now. I didn't want to actually say anything until I was sure I could do it."_

"I have to admit that I'm impressed." Haseo began to walk. "You sound really good! I'll admit your pitch is a little strange, but that could be the pitch of your voice. Despite that you enunciate quite well; hell you speak better than some of my classmates, and you've been practicing for how long?"

"_A few months give or take . . . I just wanted to be able to communicate on the same level as you . . ."_

"Aw Kite, you didn't have to do that I was just fine with the way we communicate."

"_I know, but I wasn't . . . I really wanted to be able to talk to you."_

"I understand." Haseo smiled. "What tempted you to open your mouth now?"

"_I was forced to. For some reason I can't text you here."_

"Oh . . . wait a minute . . . that either means that The World is malfunctioning or we aren't in The World at all."

"_I'm thinking that the latter happened, I don't recognize this place at all."_

"How did that happen?"

"_Isn't it obvious? It was that weird thing that came out of the control panel."_

"I didn't see that; I just heard the noise it caused."

"_It was a black cloud that's all."_

'A black cloud . . .' Haseo thought and looked at Azure Kite's right wrist worriedly. "Do you think we'll see that one the behind it?"

"_Only time will tell . . ." _Azure Kite sighed. He looked down. _"Haseo . . . I'm sorry for all of this . . ."_

"Huh, how is any of this your fault?"

"_I just think that my liking you is a problem . . . It just gets you in trouble . . ."_

"Well, it gets _you _into a lot of trouble too, hell, I always thought that _I _was causing _you_ trouble. Think about it, how many times have you either gotten hurt or killed over my idiocy?"

"_I don't know I stopped counting." _The knight chuckled.

"Hey! You're supposed to make feel better!" Haseo laughed as well.

"_I can hear you laughing, Haseo, so you're obviously felling slightly better."_

"Hey, don't get snippy with me! I'll drop you!"

"_No you wouldn't!"_

"Hmm, I guess not, that would take too much thought."

"_What are you talking about?"_

"Oh nothing, Kite, I said nothing at all." Haseo grinned. "Oh look, there's a hill nearby!"

"_You're tired already?"_

". . . I can't help it; you're heavier than you look!"

"_I see . . ."_

When they reached the hill Azure Kite dropped down on an edge that jutted out of the side. Haseo took off his cape and ripped a part of it off he wrapped it around Azure Kite's wrist. Then he ripped more of it and wrapped it around the knight's other arm. _"H-Haseo, you don't have to do that. I'll just heal on my own."_

"I don't think so; you would've healed up by now, besides I'd do this even if you could heal."

"_O-oh, I see . . .! What're you doing?!" _He noticed the rogue unbuckling his boots.

"I'm checking for cuts on your legs . . ." Haseo pulled them halfway down. "Your very . . . _pretty_ legs . . ."

"_Stop that!"_

Haseo ignored him. "Seriously, your legs are really smooth and slender, but you have a brutal kick. For someone so small, you pack a lot muscle! . . . I think that's why you're kinda heavy, muscle weighs more than fat . . . still . . ." The rogue flexed Azure Kite's leg. "Where do you put it all?"

"_. . ."_

"Aw, c'mon, don't get mad . . ." Haseo pouted at Azure Kite. "I was just curious . . ."

"_I'm not mad . . ."_

"That's good . . . um . . . hey . . . Kite? I've got a couple of questions . . . if you don't mind answering them . . ."

"_Sure . . . as long as I can have my leg back?"_

". . . Fine . . ." Haseo buckled up Azure Kite's boots and let go of his leg. "Now that you can talk . . . Could you . . . say my name, y'know, my real name?" Haseo scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"_Of course I will!"_

"Really? Well, then my name is . . . Ryou Misaki"

"_R-Ryou?"_

Haseo grinned widely. "Yeah, yeah that's right!"

"_Um, your face is turning red Hase- I mean, Ryou. Why is that?"_

"Oh, no reason . . ." Haseo looked in everywhere but into Azure Kite's eyes.

"_Are you sure?"_

"I'm positive! I'll be honest, I've always been curious as to what your voice would sound like if you could talk. And now that I know . . ."

"_You're . . . disappointed . . .?"_

"How many times do I have to say it? I like your voice!"

"_I see . . ."_

"No, now that I know, and now that I know you like me . . . I can't believe it makes this harder for me to ask . . ."

"_Ask, what is it that you want to ask me?"_

"Well . . . I uh . . ." Haseo took a deep breath. "Kite," He stood up and held both of Azure Kite's hands. "When we get out of here, be it in the real world or the game, will you go out with me?"

Azure Kite looked up at Haseo. 'I've been hoping he'd ask me this for months, and now that I can actually verbally accept the words won't come . . .' He opened his mouth, but all that came out was a loud cough. He shook his head and tried again. _"Y-yes, I want to."_

Haseo sighed and collapsed back down to Azure Kite's eye level. "N-now what do we do? I'm completely out of meaningful things to say . . ."

"_Well . . . you don't necessarily have to say anything . . ." _Azure Kite blushed. _"If you know what I mean . . ."_

Haseo nodded and wrapped his arms around Azure Kite's neck. Then he noticed something. "Uh, Kite . . . what's that?"

"_What are you talking about?"_

"It . . . looks like a . . . bowling ball, and it's rolling this way fast!"

Before Azure Kite could turn around, Haseo grabbed him and bolted.

"_Oh, now I see it . . . hey! Don't carry me like this, it's embarrassing!"_

"Complain later!" Haseo shouted.

"_No really, put me down! You'll be able to run faster!"_

"I'm not letting you run on your own!"

"_I don't have to, remember?"_

"Are you sure you can float in your condition?"

"_Yes, now put me down!"_

Haseo briefly looked worried then he nodded and slowed down enough to put the knight down without stopping. Azure Kite lifted his body about an inch off the ground and glided next to Haseo. Even then they could hear the sound of the ball-like object rolling behind them. "I could really use my scythe right about now!" Haseo huffed.

"_Well, we don't have our weapons right now, so all can do is run!"_

The rumbling that the ball created subsided. Haseo slid to a stop and turned around. 'What's it doing?' He thought. Azure Kite seemed to think the same thing.

The ball snapped open to the point where Haseo and Azure Kite could see the cables and wires that made up its innards. The wiring pulsated and flashed red. In the center of the wires was a symbol shaped like an eye. The symbol began to glow red.

This time it was Azure Kite who grabbed Haseo and jumped out of the way just before a beam of red light flashed over their heads. It sliced a few pillars ahead of them. Both PCs looked at each other wide-eyed and scrambled to their feet. _"This is bad!"_ Azure Kite shouted. _"What the hell did we do to deserve this?!"_

"Less talking, more running!" Haseo hollered.

The sphere closed up then gave chase. It managed to corner them into a fissure. However, just as it snapped open what appeared to be an arrow pierced it in the 'eye' and it exploded into data fragments. Haseo leaned back against the wall then fell on his bottom. "I can't take this anymore . . ." He muttered. "I wanna go home . . ."

"_That's kind of impossible right now, Ryou. Anyway, I think we should find out who just saved us . . . judging from where we're standing the shot could've only come from above."_

Haseo tilted his head upwards. "Oh look . . . a giant purple cat."

"_A . . . giant . . . purple . . . what?"_Azure Kite looked up to see what looked like a 'giant purple cat' with spiked blond hair. He unraveled a long rope for them to climb up. Once at eye level, Haseo seemed to have lost his voice. Azure Kite spoke in his place. _"Thanks a lot; you really saved our hides back there. My name's . . ." _For a brief moment, Azure Kite hesitated; he was not the type of person to trust others easily, regardless of circumstance. Then he held out his hand. _"My name's Kite; the silent one down here is Haseo. Sorry he seems to have lost his voice . . ." _

"No problem and I'm glad I could be of help. The name's Odd." Odd shook hands with Azure Kite, although his hands looked more like a cat's paw with a thumb. His cheeks and forehead had purple markings on them and there was a purple diamond shaped mark in the front of his hair. A long tail protruded from the back of his outfit and swished back and forth. The excited manner of his tail's movements seemed to match the bright smile on his face. "Are you two new to Lyoko? I've never seen you here before."

'Lyoko? So _that's_ the name of this place . . .' Azure Kite thought. _"Yeah . . . well, we're not just new here; we just kinda . . . landed here. I don't know how it happened, but there you have it."_

"I see . . . where did you come from?"

"_We came from the online game, The World. I am an NPC there, and Haseo is a player. In case you were wondering, we were actually in the middle of a Halloween Event, hence, the outfits."_

"Ooh . . . so you're a boy?"

"Yes he is, you got a _problem _with that?!" Haseo suddenly woke from his stupor.

'Geez, he's like a protective cat . . . he shows his claws when he thinks I'm in trouble.' Azure Kite sighed and put his hand on Haseo's head. _"You can put your claws away now."_

Odd gave the knight a look that seemed to ask. "I guess you two were on a date?"

Azure Kite petted Haseo's head and smiled in a way that said. "Something like that."

"Hey, Haseo, I didn't mean to offend, but I probably would've asked Kite out if he was a girl . . . and not taken."

Haseo snorted. "Good to know you have your priorities intact." He suddenly grinned. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Well," Odd scratched his head, obviously jarred by Haseo's sudden change in mood. "I could get Jeremy's opinion on this; he may have an idea or two."

"Who's that?" Haseo inquired.

"He's like our eyes outside of Lyoko; he generally knows what goes on inside and outside."

"_That means that he can get in contact with people outside of Lyoko, right?"_ Azure Kite asked.

"He can; is there anyone you want him to get into contact with?"

"_Well, can you see if he can contact a man named Amelda?"_

"He said 'I'll see'. . ."

_**.Chapter 10// End**_

* * *

I'm doing my best to keep going, people actually seem to like this story, including me! That and I have several things I want to do with IA, so I'm trying to finish this before I move on. Sound good?


	11. Chapter 11

Let's go!

**Innocent Atrocities **

**By Gin van Geovanni**

**Chapter 11**

_**/// KaibaCorp Labs///**_

"HOW MANY VIRTUAL WORLDS COULD _POSSIBLY_ EXIST AT ONCE?!" Robo-Ky questioned. He was hooked up to about five of the lab's monitors. "WE'VE BEEN AT THIS FOR HOURS! I'M READY TO DROP!"

"You drop, and I'll drop kick you through a wall!" Amelda snapped.

"YOU'LL DO NO SUCH THING, THE SEARCH WOULDN'T GO HALF AS FAST WITHOUT ME AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"Yes it would; you're not being human is just a convenience, that way, Seto and I wouldn't be doing _all_ of the work."

Seto attempted to ignore their bickering.

"I'D LIKE TO BE REMINDED OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO HELP. WE ALREADY KNOW THAT KITE AND HASEO AREN'T IN THE WORLD, SO YOU SITTING AROUND IN THE WORLD MAKE NO SENSE!"

"Actually, it serves a small purpose." Seto interjected. "If there are people in the other virtual worlds that also reside in or play The World then we ought to be able to contact them. In other words, The World is our home base to meet anyone who has information. And sense Amelda is the best at gathering information for us I have him stationed there."

'I hate it when he has an answer for everything . . ." Robo-Ky fumed. "WELL . . . THE PLAN DOESN'T WORK WELL IF HE'S MOVING AROUND!"

"Amelda, please tell me you have a reason for being so mobile."

"Calm down, I'm just pacing around the Mac Anu fountain; after all you know how much I _love_ standing around." Amelda snapped.

"Do you mind pausing for a few hours; it is obvious that you are making Robo nervous, and now that I'm looking at you, you are making _me_ edgy as well."

"I'm just worried about those two okay?!" Amelda dropped down and sighed loudly. "It was _my_ suggestion that we go through with the transfer, and now look at where it's got them!"

Seto shook his head. "It's hard to deal with right now, but we've got to do what we've got to do, and right now we've got to clear our heads and find them."

"Right . . ."

'So much drama . . .' Robo-Ky thought then he heard a ringing sound in his left ear. "AMELDA YOU'VE GOT AN E-MAIL."

"Who's it from?" Amelda asked in an exhausted tone.

"SOME GUY NAMED JEMEMY BELPOIS, WANT ME TO READ IT?"

"Go on . . ."

"KITE AND HASEO ARE IN A WORLD CALLED 'LYOKO'. THEY'RE BOTH DOING FINE."

"Ask him if there's a way for us to contact them!" Amelda demanded before logging out.

"HOLD ON A SEC." Robo-Ky typed in a quick reply. "THERE, I SENT IT . . . HE SAYS THAT THERE IS, BUT IT'S GOING TO TAKE A WHILE. IT SHOULD GO FASTER IF YOU STOP EVERYTHING ELSE ASIDE FROM YOUR MESSENGING CAPABILITIES."

_**/// Lyoko: Desert Sector ///**_

"It looks like he got the message." Odd said. "And it looks like Jeremy's going to try and connect them to his own computer so you guys can get out."

Haseo and Azure Kite sighed and looked at each other in relief.

"I wouldn't get too comfortable yet. There's still some things that we have to do on this end, and believe me it won't be easy!"

"_We've been through enough crap today to see that coming from a mile away." _Azure Kite said Haseo nodded in agreement. _"Well, Haseo, you ready?"_

"You bet! . . . Hey . . ." Haseo frowned. "You called me 'Haseo'."

Azure Kite looked at him, confounded then he said. _"Oh, I called you Haseo because I wasn't sure if you wanted anyone to know your real name or not."_

"I suppose that's fair, although I think it would be a bigger help if people knew my real name, y'know? It may come in handy if something happened to my body or something."

"_Ah, you're right! What if you've fallen out of your chair and hurt yourself, or your M2D fell off, or your PC's messed up?!" _Azure Kite ruffled his hair and began to dash in circles. _"What if your real self . . ."_

"I'm sure my body's fine . . ." Haseo placed his hand on Azure Kite's shoulder. "Kite, you worry too much about the wrong thing." He laughed.

"_Look at who's talking! I'll never live it down if something happens to your real body!"_

"Kite, please calm down . . ."

"Uh, guys . . ." Odd said rather quietly. "Not to be rude, but can you wrap it up; we really need to get going."

"Where are we headed?" Haseo asked.

"There's a tower in this . . ." Before he could finish his sentence there was a light _thud_. Azure Kite had dropped to the ground with his face buried in his hands.

"Kite, what's wrong?" Haseo inquired.

"_Ryou . . . if something happens to you . . . it's my fault!"_

"No it's not; I told you already, I'm the one who grabbed your hand, so if something happens it's my fault."

"_But you're going through all of this because of me!"_

"Heh and I'd go through it all over again if it meant spending every waking moment with you." He brushed the knight's bangs out of his face. "Aw, c'mon don't look so sad, if I'm somehow not connected to my M2D that just means I'll be able to spend some extra time with you before going back." Haseo laughed.

"_That's not funny . . ." _Azure Kite pouted. _"Make another bad joke like that and I'll kill you . . ."_

"Ha-ha you're right." Haseo laced his fingers with Azure Kite's and began to walk. "And you know something else? That would be the best way to die ever!"

Azure Kite and Odd groaned at the same time. _"Which way is the tower?"_

"I don't know . . . but she does." Odd indicated to a hill in the distance. There was a girl peering from behind it. She wore a pink bodysuit with a bluish silver belt and wrap around her chest. There was a semi transparent short skirt around her waist. Long fingerless gloves covered her arms all the way up to her shoulders. There were pink markings on her face and her short hair was the same shade of pink as the markings. She had bright green eyes and elfish ears. She waved at the group as they got closer.

Something about her made a chill go down Azure Kite's spine. He looked at her apprehensively.

"What's up?" Haseo whispered.

"_Well . . . I just got this strange feeling when I saw her . . . It wasn't a bad feeling . . . in fact something familiar about it . . ."_

"Familiar?"

"_Well, it's that same feeling that I get when I'm around Aura . . ."_

"That means we can trust her, right?"

"_. . . Yeah . . ."_

"Hey Aelita, when did you get here?" Odd asked.

"I got here a few minutes ago." Aelita replied. "I assume these two are Kite, and Haseo, correct?"

"That's correct. Did Jeremy fill you in on all the details?"

Aelita nodded. "Jeremy also told me about Kaiba's plan to bring Kite into the real world which is why they ended up here in the first place. He told me that there could be a way to materialize Kite from Lyoko."

"You really mean that?!" Haseo exclaimed.

"Just like before, it may not work, but it is possible."

"_I'm not so sure . . ." _Azure Kite said slowly.

Odd's cat ears quirked. "What's up?"

"_Well, it's just that . . . the first time we tried . . . this black cloud came out of nowhere and then we ended up here."_

"You saw a black cloud?" Aelita and Odd looked at each other then back at Azure Kite.

"_Yeah . . . it left this as a parting gift."_Azure Kite held up his right arm and unraveled the cloth from around it. The black ring was even darker than before.

"This is bad." Aelita said. "We can't waste anymore time here! We must get to the tower as soon as possible!"

"I'll take the lead, "Odd said. "Then Aelita, then Kite, and then Haseo will take the rear. Got that?" Everyone nodded and headed out. "Which way do we go Aelita?" Odd glanced behind him.

"The tower's to the East, but I have a bad feeling about it so we I think we should take the alternate route due North."

"What exactly do you feel in that direction?" Haseo questioned. "And what was with that reaction to Kite's injury? I know it's bad, but _how_ bad are we talking?"

"I feel something big to the east, and even though we can handle it, that would be an unnecessary use of energy." Aelita replied. "And about Kite's injury . . . the thing that caused it could have been a remnant of our old enemy, Xana. Black clouds or floating masses would appear when he was up to something in the real world. This is the first time an incident has occurred in another virtual world. I have no idea what this means though, especially when we have already defeated him."

"_So you guys are like guardians of this world the same way Haseo and I are a part of the guardians of The World."_

"That's right; Jeremy, Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, and I protect Lyoko. However . . ."

"_What do you mean by 'However'? And where are Ulrich and Yumi?"_

"They are currently in another sector, and I am curious as to what about you would force what is left of Xana out of hiding . . ."

"_Who knows . . . weird things are always attracted to me . . . what I'm curious about is why did Xana choose now? I'm always in The World."_

"Maybe he saw an opportunity when you tried to exit The World." Haseo volunteered. "Maybe he became aware of you when we attempted the transfer."

"Did you get that?" Aelita said a bit louder.

All of a sudden, Azure Kite and Haseo could hear a third voice. "That's definitely a possibility."

"_I'm guessing you're Jeremy."_

"You got that right; can you hear me all right?"

"_Yes I can hear you just fine."_

"What about you, Haseo?"

"I can hear you loud and clear. What's going on?"

"Well, like Aelita said, there's something ugly to the east, I'll transfer your weapons to you just in case you run into any danger. However, if you keep heading north you may not even need them."

"Thanks!" Haseo took his scythe in both hands and strapped it across his back. Azure Kite could not help but smile a little bit when he held both of his swords again.

"It would be a travesty if you couldn't defend yourself. There is something that I am curious about . . . It is the fact that Xana is quite attracted to you, I wonder why . . ."

"_Well, I'm an independent NPC created by The World's ultimate AI in order to protect The World itself. Even so, no one really controls me, I'm free to do what I want give or take."_

"You're an independent AI? And you've traveled from one virtual world to another? And to top it all off you could possibly be able to travel into the real world?! No wonder Xana wants you; more specifically he wants your body."

"_What does he want with my body?!"_

"I'm guessing he wants a body that is not only versatile, but completely inhuman, or at least, that would be the appeal that your body would have to him. He tried to take over Aelita multiple times, however, it's impossible for him to do that now, there's only so much he can do with a human body."

"_I hope that is all he knows about me . . ."_

"I think that black mark on your wrist says differently."

"_That's bad . . ."_

"Do you mind filling us in?"

"_I have the ability to alter data in The World, it doesn't seem to work here, and then again I haven't tried to do anything. I can also control fire, and travel without the use of portals; but once again, most of these things I can only do in The World, so Xana wouldn't get much use out of my body."_

"I think there is more to it than that." Seto's voice echoed through everyone's ears.

"_Kaiba . . .? What do you mean?"_

"Think about it, if your body can float around all of these foreign places, who is to say that your abilities cannot? What if it simply takes your body a while to adapt to your surroundings? Once that happens, your powers will begin to come back to you one by one. It may not work well for someone impatient, but that would a small price for having the powers in the first place."

"Good point." Jeremy said slowly. "Thankfully you guys are getting closer to the tower; it's just beyond that hill . . . hold on . . ."

"What is it?" Odd said.

"One of the enemies to the east just stopped . . . almost as if the one next to it is meant to retrieve . . . but there aren't that many monsters who can serve that purpose well . . ."

"Jeremy, can you scan the area in that direction?" Aelita asked.

"I'll see what I can do, but I think it still maybe too far away for that . . ."

"If that's the case then one of us should go and check it out!" Haseo said. "Who's it closest to?"

"Well, to be honest, Kite, but that's out of the question."

"Then I'll go!"

"_R-Ryou, are you crazy?!" _Azure Kite snapped.

"Yes, although this is a small measure if it means keeping you safe." Haseo drew his scythe and smiled. "Just keep saying my name like that and I'll do a whole lot more crazy things for you." He dashed off.

"_Idiot . . ." _Azure Kite said softly. Then he shouted. _"You idiot! You better come back you hear me?!" _His shoulders shook. _"Now where do we go?"_

"Are you sure you don't want to wait?" Odd questioned.

"I'll keep an eye on him; you guys need to get to the tower." Jeremy said.

"_We . . . we keep heading north right, Aelita?"_

"Correct."

"_All right, I'll take up the rear from here on out."_

"No I'll do it, you should stay in the middle," Aelita said. "Regardless of strength, you're the one who needs the most protection."

"_But . . ."_

Odd jumped behind them both. "How 'bout this: I'll take up the rear while Aelita leads. That way Kite stays in the middle, and I can catch either of you if you slip up."

Both Azure Kite and Aelita nodded. Aelita did not climb rather she seemed to float over the areas that lacked decent footing. Azure Kite managed to scale the hill side with ease, as did Odd for their body types seemed to be suited for climbing. Then Jeremy's voice came to them. "Haseo spotted what appeared to be a guardian in the area, so be very careful!" He warned.

"We will, are there any other threats?"

"He said he can't tell yet . . . there seems to be something, but he can't quite make out what it is. It seemed like it was big, but it disappeared before he could get a good look at it."

"_Tell him to be careful . . ." _Azure Kite said in a fearful tone.

"He's trying to . . . wait . . . he ran into a creeper and a scorpion! He managed to distract the creeper, but the scorpion is headed your way and fast!"

Odd growled. "Great, just _great_ there's and guardian and a scorpion! I can't wait to see which one gets us first!"

"_What is the guardian?" _Azure Kite inquired.

"It is one of Xana's craftier monsters," Aelita replied. "Not only is it hard to kill, but it can make a clone of whomever it captures. The clone is also near impossible to kill; the easiest way to do it is to draw the two close to each other."

"_I see . . . and what about the scorpion?"_

"They're big, they're powerful, and by god you don't want to get hit by one. Generally they're covered in armor, but their weak point should be easy to hit."

"_What is it?"_

"I heard that you ran into a megatank earlier, correct? Remember the eye-like symbol on it?"

Azure Kite nodded.

"One solid hit to that ought to do it in. Aim there when you get the chance."

"_Gotcha, I guess the guardians are harder to kill because they're weak point isn't as obvious to find is it?"_

"In a manner of speaking, the guardian is a large nearly transparent sphere. There are no symbols of any kind to hit."

"_I see . . ." _Azure Kite could see a faint orange glow over Aelita that glow became brighter. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her to the side.

"Kite, what is it?"

"_Aelita . . . are the guardians any specific color?" _The knight asked.

"They're a shade of orange, why?"

"_I think it caught up to us . . ." _Azure Kite drew both blades and looked around. Odd was immediately on the defensive when he reached the top.

"This isn't good, usually the guardians are more visible than this . . . all I can see is an orange glow, but there's no sign of the guardian itself . . ."

"_I don't even see a shadow . . . that is assuming they have shadows . . ."_

"They have shadows, and due to their size, it's actually easy to spot their shadow . . . Unless it's hiding within the scenery itself . . ."

As though on cue, Azure Kite felt an odd sensation at his feet. What appeared to an orange fluid crept up his legs. 'What the . . .' before he could react the fluid consumed his entire body and he fell unconscious. Then the orb that consumed him disappeared.

_**.Chapter 11//End**_

* * *

I just got my wisdom teeth pulled. I'm in pain, but I'd rather be in temporary pain without them than in oral purgatory with them! Anyway, I'm going as fast as I can now that I have the time!

I guess I ought to explain that line with Azure Kite's reaction to seeing Aelita, well sense Aelita was originally suppose to be an AI within Lyoko, and she does have quite a bit of power there I thought it would be fun to play around with her giving off the same vibe as Aura, but then I thought about it said to myself that Haseo doesn't need anyone else to be needlessly angry at. So I kind of cut the moment short. Who knows I may just do a little thing where they meet.


	12. Chapter 12

Almost . . . uh for the record I'm doing something different with the tower considering in the actual show time is reversed . . . I don't think that ANYONE wants time to reverse in this story . . . If you do then please just start the story over . . . My brain would implode if I had to go back in time with this story.

**Innocent Atrocities**

**By Gin van Geovanni**

**Chapter 12**

_**/// Lyoko: Desert Sector ///**_

Haseo sheathed his scythe. "_Whew_, that was actually a challenge!" He said.

"I must say that was impressive!" Jeremy commented. "You handled that creeper as though you deal with them as much as we do."

"I've never seen something like that in my entire life, but you are right, I have faced a thing like it before." He dusted his pants off. "Now then it's time to get back to Kite!"

"Kite, Aelita, and Odd." Jeremy corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, I thought you would've caught the drift by now, I put Kite before anything else! But that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm just gonna neglect everyone else with him."

"Right . . ." The doubt in Jeremy's voice was evident. "I see something near you! Watch out!"

"Ah crap!" Haseo drew his scythe then he resheathed it at the sight of the person:

It was Azure Kite.

"Geez, Jeremy, what the hell was up with that warning?! I almost hit Kite!"

"I'm not sure it's him, Haseo . . ." Jeremy sounded suspicious. "He's not reading like the Kite you know . . ."

"Maybe it's just because it's Kite, he is an unusual AI after all."

Azure Kite nodded. "Yeah, you can't blame me for being a little strange!"

Haseo blinked slowly. 'That unusual rasp in his voice is gone . . .' he thought. "Kite . . . what happened to your voice?"

"What do you mean?" The knight asked in a rather childish manner.

"Your voice was a bit raspy when you last spoke . . . did it clear up that quickly?"

"I guess so." Azure Kite smiled.

'Well, the attitude is the same . . . sorta . . . Kite hasn't used that attitude with me since the beginning of the event . . . Ever since he's been kind of . . . melancholy I mean he smiles at all the right moments, but for the most part he's been a bit of a worrywart; he hasn't had the time to play around as much as he wants to . . .'

'Kite is odd . . . not only is he much too cheerful, but he reads like one of Xana's monsters . . .' Aloud he called to Aelita. "Aelita, how are things on yours and Odd's end?"

"Not good, Jeremy, Kite was taken by the guardian from right under our noses! I don't even know where to look because it just vanished."

"Vanished?! It's gone?!"

"Yes, even so we need to tell Haseo to watch out, because the clone has yet to show up."

"I think it already has . . ." Jeremy turned to Haseo. "Haseo, that _isn't _Kite!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Remember the guardians I told you about? Kite was just captured by one, and we have no idea where it is."

"Did it ever occur to you that he defeated it on his own?"

"That's highly unlikely, the guardian doesn't have a body that can be hurt in any physical manner, and once it gets a hold of its target, it doesn't let go and the target doesn't wake up until the guardian is dead."

Haseo looked at Azure Kite who looked mildly annoyed as opposed to angry. '. . . That is not a normal reaction, even for him . . .' he quirked an eyebrow at the knight's curious reaction. "You don't really seem all that phased about this . . ."

"I don't see why I should be . . . I know what's true and what isn't, therefore I can remain calm in the face of injustice."

'_That_ sounds like his patience . . .'

Azure Kite took Haseo's wrist. "C'mon Haseo, we'd better catch up with Odd and Aelita . . . there's still the matter of the tower . . ."

Haseo's eyes widened and he snatched his arm away. "What did you call me?"

"I called you 'Haseo' silly." 'Azure Kite' smiled, although the smile was more of a wide smirk than anything else.

"I thought so . . ." He drew his scythe and put the blade up to 'Azure Kite's' throat. "Kite knows my real name now . . . he's said it countless times today . . ."

"Oh . . ." The guardian pouted. "Well, I'm better at copying _looks _and not personality . . ." He smirked. "Well, it doesn't matter much anyway, the little thing won't have much of a personality in due time." The smirk widened. "He's Xana's possession now . . ."

"You don't honestly think I'll let you slide off after making that statement do you?!" Haseo brought the scythe's blade so close to the guardian's neck that he drew blood. "Now you're gonna lead me to Kite, or your death will be much slower."

"Why would I do that? I know that you can stop him, and even if you can't you could be a real _pain in the ass_." The guardian's jaw seemed to expand as he smiled in a twisted manner. He traced the blade with the tips of his fingers. "Therefore I have to make sure you are as little of that as possible." He ducked out of the way and jumped back. He landed onto the head of a huge, two-legged creature. Most of its muscles were visible through its thick plated armor. Spikes ran down its spine; they became smaller as they reached the end of its long sharp tail. Its massive feet were armed with three heavy claws. Even its head was at a sharp point. The symbol was located at the center of its armored head. It raised its tail to strike.

Just as Haseo dodged out of the way, Odd and Aelita appeared. "You guys made it here pretty quick."

"We just followed the scorpion here."

"I see, well you made it here just in time. Seems like we have a pest problem . . ."

"It's the guardian . . ." Odd said as he and Aelita looked up at the guardian on top of the scorpion. "He'll be a problem, especially sense we don't know where the original is."

"What do you mean?"

"If the clone gets close to the original guardian body then both of them will die and Kite'll be free."

They heard a whistle. "I think you missed the part where even after I die 'Kite' won't be free!" The guardian taunted.

"We'll just see about that!" Haseo leapt toward the guardian, and was almost caught by the scorpion's tail. "Odd! Aelita! I'm taking the guardian on by myself!"

"Does he honestly think we can take this thing on?!" Odd shouted as he took aim at its head.

Aelita took on a meditative stance and placed both hands on the ground. "This ought to be easy now . . ." She said calmly. The ground began to rumble and spikes shot from below. They barely scratched the scorpion's armor, but it did shake it enough to knock the guardian off. The moment his feet touched the ground he hopped around as though the ground hurt him. On top of that he was dodging Haseo's brutal assault with the scythe. He finally managed to scale a rock face jutting from the ground. 'That . . . was uncomfortably close . . .' He thought.

Haseo noticed as well. 'He seemed spooked where I'm standing.' He thought. 'I wonder what's down there . . .' He began to dig the hilt of the scythe into the ground.

'Well, well, he thinks he's on to something . . .' The guardian thought with a smile. 'I suppose he is . . .' He squatted down and watched as Haseo continued to dig. He even nestled his head in his hand. 'I'm far away enough, so I'll just watch him . . .'

Haseo stopped in exhaustion, but he would not drop his scythe.

"Aww tired already? You're no fun Haseo." The Guardian teased. "I thought you had more in you than that? Or are you just an angry child who is frustrated because he's going to lose . . .?!"

The guardian let out a sharp breath. "You talk too much." Haseo growled. He had driven the blade of his scythe as far into the guardian's body as possible. When he jerked it out the guardian fell into digitized pieces.

"Haseo!" Jeremy's voice sounded sharp. "What'd you that for?! He was our only lead on Kite!"

"Not true." Haseo dropped on all fours and began to claw into the ground. "Perhaps you missed it, but the guardian got real jumpy when he came closer to this spot! That can only mean one thing: The original body is buried under here!"

"Why would it buried under there?" Jeremy questioned. "Wouldn't the earth simply fall through the guardian's body?"

"It may be inside of something . . . but what could be big enough to encase a guardian?"

"I don't know, but . . ."

"I SEE HIM!" Haseo shouted. "I can just barely see, him but it looks like he's in a glass case . . ."

Jeremy leaned back in his seat. "A glass case . . .? What could possibly be underground, and why does it have Kite . . .?"

"Are there any other monsters in Lyoko other than the guardian that are semi transparent?" Seto questioned.

"There may be . . . but . . . that monster disappeared ages ago . . . at least I thought it had . . ."

"Do you have a record of some kind for the monsters in Lyoko?"

"I'll send it to you . . ."

As soon as he got it he looked over the list of monsters; one in particular stood out. "Scyphozoa . . ." He said slowly. "This monster looks like an oversized light bulb . . . perhaps it is this one . . ."

"The thought that it may be that crossed my mind too . . . there are a couple of problems that I have with that. . ."

"Let's hear them . . ."

"The creature floats most of the time, and due to its abilities it would be useless for it to be underground . . . Also . . . why would it need to hold a guardian inside of its own body . . .?"

"Its main ability is to siphon the memories of data, a process that would take a considerable amount of time . . ." Seto laced his fingers together. "I f Xana is after Kite's body and abilities, then he'll want just that. He has no need for his personality therefore he's going to use the scyphozoa to take away everything that makes Kite an individual and take over the empty shell. The guardian cannot die as long as it is a certain distance away from the main body, it's the perfect decoy."

"It's near invincible, huh?" Haseo remarked.

"Ah, you heard that, Haseo?" Seto asked.

"Yeah, I heard; I managed to do it once already . . . it talked too much . . ."

"That's not very nice!" A voice called out to them. It was another guardian. "Y'know it's rude to kill someone while they're speaking." The guardian charged forward and kicked Haseo with enough force to knock him off his feet. It came with a price though; a deep gash dug itself into his leg. 'Ah . . . got a bit too close there . . .' He grabbed Haseo by the arm and tossed him further away from the scyphozoa. At the same time the monster itself began to rise out of the ground. It was a massive jellyfish-like creature with electric blue tentacles. It had a cone shaped body with a bulbous dome on top inside of the dome was the guardian's original body floating inside of that was the unconscious body of Azure Kite. The dome and the body were connected by a large green diamond with an eye in the center. Several of the tentacles were lifted up behind the eye and wrapped around Azure Kite's body. Two more were latched onto his temples. A pinkish fluid traveled from the two on his temples and into the shape that made up its body.

"Kite!" Haseo shouted. "I'll get you out of there, I promise!"

"He can't even hear you," The guardian said teasingly. "And in about ten more minutes, he'll be gone!" He took up a fighting stance. "Do you think you can get past me by then?!"

For a moment, Haseo appeared flustered then he looked up at the giant jellyfish behind the guardian. Then down at the scythe that had fallen when the scyphozoa had risen. He took it up both hands and spun it as hard as he could like a baton. When he had hoped that he gathered enough momentum he threw it at the monster. It just managed to hit one of the monster's think tentacles. Even the guardian was amazed that it hit. He was even more stupefied when Haseo leapt off of his shoulders and grabbed the scythe's handle.

The tentacles were slightly slippery, but the rogue managed to scale them . This managed to agitate the monster and it lashed out. It struck Haseo multiple times with its appendages, but the rogue would not let go, he tightened his grip with each lashing and by sheer willpower he made it as far as the scyphozoa's body. Bruised beyond belief and barely able to see, he clung to the monster's body.

'This isn't good . . .' The guardian looked worried. 'He might actually be able to make it . . .' He turned around in an attempt to leave, but Odd stepped in his way. "You don't honestly think you'll be able to stop me . . . do you?"

"Oh I think we can manage, right Aelita?" Odd grinned.

"I believe so." Aelita smiled.

'I'm almost there . . .with no time to spare!' Haseo struggled to stand on top of the creature. He raised his scythe. 'Almost there . . . just a little further . . ." He swung it down to the creature's eye. The entire diamond cracked as did the dome atop its head. The guardian's original body fazed through the dome as the scyphozoa's tentacles loosened their grip. Haseo fell, but there was a smile on his lips 'I did it . . . Kite . . .' He would have crashed to the ground had Odd not caught him. Azure Kite within the guardian's body floated to the ground. The clone that had been rooted to the ground looked at his fading body. "Well . . . this could have gone better . . ." He muttered looking at his hands. The guardian's main body dropped Azure Kite onto the ground then exploded as the last of the clone faded away. Sensing danger, the scyphozoa retreated.

Haseo sat up before Azure Kite did. He crawled over to the knight "He's not waking up . . ." He said in a hushed tone of voice.

"He should have woken up by now . . ." Aelita said slowly. She scanned her hands over his body. "It feels as though he is all right . . ."

"Wake up . . ." Haseo began to chant softly. "Please wake up . . ."

Azure Kite's eyes fluttered open, then he blinked dizzily. _". . . Ryou . . . ? What happened?" _He was suddenly tackled by Haseo. The rogue's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck. _"Ryou . . .? What's the matter?"_ He looked Haseo in the eye._ "Why are you . . . crying?"_

'He doesn't remember anything before being knocked out . . . good . . .' Haseo took deep breath and said shakily. "I'm not . . . I'm just exhausted . . . My eyes get a bit watery when I stay awake for too long. Just give me a few hours of sleep I'll be fine . . ."

Azure Kite did not look convinced, but he said. _"Well then we'd better get going, you need your rest." _He attempted to stand then wobbled slightly. Haseo managed to catch him before he fell. _"Whoa . . . I guess you're not the only one . . ."_

"I guess not." Haseo smiled as brightly as he could. Before he started to walk he hoisted Azure Kite onto his back for about the third (or fourth) time.

"_Haseo I'm beginning to think that you like carrying me around like this . . ." _Azure Kite said.

"Oh really? What gave that away?" Odd said playfully.

"Hey, he was talking to me, and yes I do like carrying you around."

"_Why? I mean anyone with eyes can see that it's a strain on your back, so why put yourself through that kind of pain?"_

"It only looks like I'm in pain. Carrying you is the closest I can get to you, I mean c'mon you're literally in my arms and I'm in no mood to put you down."

"_Ryou . . . you are a very embarrassing person to be around sometimes you know that?"_

"I'm only speaking the truth."

"_Still I can move on my own. . . besides, I don't think that you should be carrying my weight with all of those cuts on your body . . . How did you get those?"_

"I . . . got into a nasty scrape with the scorpion on my way back. It was stronger than I thought it was."

Azure Kite gave him a light tap on the head. _"Stupid, I told you to be careful."_

"Heh Heh I'll be more careful next time . . ." Haseo smirked. _"My mistress."_

Azure Kite blushed and hit him slightly harder than before. Haseo merely chuckled. Aelita smiled and laughed lightly. Odd shrugged and shook his head.

"Ah, finally we reach the tower." Odd said as they neared it. "Is it just the two of you or does Haseo need to be in there as well?"

"No, I just need Kite to enter in with me."

Azure Kite nodded and slid off of Haseo's back as he and Aelita walked towards the tower he turned around and said one last thing to Haseo:

"_I'll see you soon."_

_**/// .Chapter 12 // End ///**_

* * *

Sorry I don't do fight scenes well, that and I feel the intense need to go insane . . . There is a carton of ice cream and a big cone with my name on it, and I can't eat any of it! D'X On the other hand I had a very tasty mango smoothie, homemade of course. =)

. . .Okay so I lied about the tower, I'm not doing anything with, but to be honest I just kept drawing blanks at what to do, so you know what? I'll leave what happened there to your untwisted imagination.


	13. Chapter 13

And I believe that we are done . . . for now.

**Innocent Atrocities**

**By Gin van Geovanni**

**Chapter 13**

_**/// Ryou Misaki's Apartment: The Bedroom ///**_

Ryou blinked slowly then sat up. He wiped the heavy amounts of drool off of his cheek and chin and shook his head. "Ow . . . my head hurts . . . again . . ." He grumbled and ran his hands through his light brown hair. As he did so his fingers grazed his M2D. "Hold on . . ." He touched his headset, his face, his desk, and even dropped to his knees to touch the floor. "I'm . . . back . . ." He jerked off his M2D and looked around his room. "I'm back . . .! I'm actually back . . ." he turned to the window. There were rays of light peeking through the curtains. He peeled them back and let the morning light assault his eyes. "Argh, you've gotta be kidding me! Any other time, very little time would've passed and now in this one moment I'm supposed to believe that I was online for almost 13 hours?!" He paused and thought aloud. "That does explain the drool, the cramp in my back, and the numbness in my butt . . . still . . ." He collapsed in his rolling chair but misjudged exactly where it was and it rolled from underneath him. "I can't believe this . . . I just . . . can't believe this . . ."

All of a sudden he heard a knock at the door. 'I wonder who that is.' Ryou thought and stood up. He looked at his clothing; a black sweatshirt with baggy sleeves and a pair of dark baggy jeans. There was a dark spot where he had fallen unconscious and slobbered all over his desk, but it was barely visible. He shrugged, straightened out his shirt, and answered the door.

He found himself facing a tall man with short red hair and silver eyes. He was dressed in a muscle shirt that barely covered his midriff and a long black leather coat with buckles around the collar, waist, and arms. His arms were covered by fingerless gloves with metal spikes on the knuckles. Low-cut black pants were tucked into steel toed leather boots with metal plates around the front. These boots came about as high as his calves. "Morning Haseo, how's it going?" He said cheerfully.

"A-Amelda?!" Ryou squinted. "What are you doing here, how did you find me?"

"It was easy for Seto to locate you once he got your real name, Ryou."

"How did you get that information?"

"I'll explain that later!" Amelda snapped and pushed Ryou aside.

"H-hey! You can't just barge into my place and . . ." Ryou quirked an eyebrow. ". . . What are you doing here?"

"Isn't that obvious? I'm here to pick you up, we're going on a very important trip and you need to be ready." Amelda said as he crossed the apartment room into the bedroom. He proceeded to raid Ryou's closet, pulling out random articles of clothing and throwing them onto the bed.

"Do you mind?!" Ryou burst through the bedroom door and tried to stuff things back into his closet, but Amelda was throwing things around faster than the boy could put them back. "Explain to me why you're here and how the hell you found me!"

"Fine!" Amelda huffed and flopped down onto the bed. "I'm here to take you on a little field trip, and I need you to get a little dressed up for where we're going. However, we're on a bit of a tight schedule so you're going to have to have to jump into whatever you plan on wearing."

"What's wrong with what I have on?" Ryou waved his sleeves innocently.

Amelda looked at him with a mixture of disgust and apathy then turned to his computer. "I'm gonna e-mail Seto, and tell him that I made it here without a hitch. By the time I turn around you better not be wearing that grungy thing or _I'll _dress you."

"All right, all right, all right," Ryou muttered. "Pushy bastard . . ." Ryou took his sweater off and began to sift around his shirts. "Where're we going?"

"It's a surprise, just looks sharp."

"I have to dress up _that_ fancily?!"

"Nope, just look as good as I know you can."

"Fine . . . now on to my second question . . . how did you find me?" Ryou picked out a black and red striped long sleeved shirt; there were thumb-holes in the sleeves.

Amelda saw him put it on from the computer's reflection. 'Not bad . . .' he thought then said aloud. "Remember Jeremy and Seto were connected while you guys were in Lyoko, so everything he heard Seto heard. And Kite wouldn't stop saying you name for a second. From there, Seto just put your name into KaibaCorp's system then he narrowed down the search by singling out how many people named 'Ryou' play The World . . . From there he just went by player names, and finally he found 'Haseo'. That name led him to this address." Amelda turned on the webcam and e-mailed Seto in a matter of seconds then man's face appeared on screen. "Hey there Seto it's Amelda here reporting from the Misaki residence!"

"I see, and I trust he knows the situation?" Seto inquired.

"Well, I haven't told him _where_ we're going, that's going to be a secret for now."

Seto sighed. "I trust you at least told him to dress accordingly, and to do so in a timely manner?"

"I did."

"So why is he planning on going anywhere in that cut up excuse for a pair of pants?"

'What is up with these guys and picking on the way I dress?!' Ryou said with one leg in a pair of faded jeans with holes in the knees. 'And how did he manage to see me from there?!' the teen fumed.

"I don't think it looks that bad . . ." Amelda argued.

"No it does not, however those black pants with the red stitching would bring out the stripes in your shirt better." Seto folded his arms and opened one eye. "They are on the bed."

Ryou glanced at his bed, sure enough the black pants that Seto mentioned were there. 'Well . . . he does have a point . . .' the tawny haired teen snatched the pants and yanked them on. That was when he noticed a belt hanging on the closet door. It was a dark blue, almost black thing with a gold buckle. The buckle was the same as Azure Kite's. 'I have a feeling about this belt . . . I think I'll wear this one today . . .' He thought then paused with his hand over it. 'Wait what if the peanut gallery has something to say about it?' He noticed that neither Seto nor Amelda made any objections; in fact, they seemed mildly interested that he had a belt like that. "I'm going to make some last minute preparations for later on, make sure Ryou gets to where he is meant to on time." Seto said.

"I'm on it." Amelda gave a mock salute and cut the webcam off. "Are you almost ready?"

"Give me a minute!" Ryou disappeared into the closet. ". . . I wonder if tennis shoes are enough . . .'

"Yes! Yes they are, now let's get going!" Amelda snapped.

"Right!" Ryou laced up his shoes as quickly as possible and grabbed his long jacket on the way out.

"I hope you don't mind taking a back seat." Amelda said as he hopped onto his motorcycle. "And don't let your pride get in the way of your safety . . ." he tossed Ryou an extra helmet. "Grabbing my shoulders should be fine, but if you feel safer grabbing my neck or my waist then go on."

Ryou settled behind him and wrapped his arms around his neck. "For the last time, where are we going?" He demanded.

Amelda revved up the bike's engine. "Just hang on." He said.

_**/// Airport ///**_

Ryou and Amelda were in the food court they were seated so that the terminals were just in view. Amelda was drinking a soda, Ryou had one in front of him as well, but he ignored it entirely and settled for chewing on the straw.

"Ryou, I need to ask you something." Amelda said.

"What is it?"

"Where did you get that belt?"

Ryou looked down at his belt; the buckle gleamed under the light from the windows. "I didn't buy it. I made it." He looked exhausted. "And I must say that it was chore making it! I mean it looks simple and I'm sure if I had the skill it would've been easy, but since I don't, it wasn't. To be honest, I wanted it to be a replica of Kite's, but then I realized that Kite was wearing suspenders and I just left it at a belt."

"I see . . . how long ago did you make it?"

"Well . . . it was about . . . six months ago . . . maybe seven . . ."

"Then you ought to give yourself more credit. It is amateurish in nature, but it is still pretty well made and if it's still holding up then I'd say you did pretty well."

'That's right . . . Amelda does this sort of thing in his spare time, so I must admit that's a surprising complement coming from him.' Ryou could not help but glance at it again. "I don't wear it as often as you think though . . . I'm paranoid that it'll fall apart."

"Seven months and it's holding together enough for you to wear it in public multiple times; I stand by what I said when I say you did pretty well."

"Thanks, but why'd ask about it at all?"

"I was just thinking about how much it looks like Kite's belt, and how you must have liked him a lot even then and tried to make a matching belt."

Ryou blushed "I just thought it was the belt at the time . . . but I think you may be right." Ryou took the top off the soda cup and took a drink.

"The irony is also astounding . . ." Amelda said under his breath.

"Ah . . . what was that?" Ryou cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh it's nothing, Ryou, nothing at all, by the way, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, why do you ask me that now?"

"Well, you've been up for about 13 hours straight and I just burst into your apartment and dragged you out here. I'm sure you're exhausted."

"Oh . . . well, I'm a little tired, but I barely feel it after you woke me up." Ryou took another drink of soda. "And I think the caffeine is settling in."

"I see," Amelda looked over at the terminals, there were people exiting, but apparently no one was of interest.

"Hey, you've been looking at the terminals on and off for a while now, who are you looking for?"

"I thought that would've been obvious by now." Amelda sighed.

"Hm?"

"It turns out that Jeremy, Odd, and Aelita are located in France in the real world."

"I see . . ." Interest was sparked in Ryou's violet eyes.

"And it turns out that Kite 'materialized' with them, it happened about three hours before I went out to contact you. He arrived safely and was a little dizzy, but safe nonetheless."

"I see . . ." Ryou's eyes lit up.

"Seto, being the type of person he is had 'anticipated' (or at least hoped) that Kite would make it, so he booked a flight for him and arranged to have to have escorts for him."

"I see . . .!" Ryou suddenly turned to the terminals. "Wait . . . you said three hours before you contacted me . . . so his flight landed already?!"

"It's possible . . . however unlikely . . . we would've seen him and his escorts by now. Still . . . there are only two arriving flights from France left . . . I hope he didn't wander off . . . Oh my . . ."

"What?"

"Look."

Amelda indicated to two teenagers standing at the terminal. One was a boy with a rolling bag in his hands. His blond hair was spiked to a peak with a violet diamond shape in the middle. He wore a purple hoodie and purple bell bottoms with dark red-orange tennis shoes. Next to him was a girl with short pink hair and clear green eyes. She wore a sleeveless yellow shirt and a dark pink jacket. She had on a black knee-length skirt and dark red and black boots. They both seemed miffed.

Amelda scratched his head. "I can tell from the looks on your faces and the lack of a third person that something happened . . ."

'Oh no . . .' Ryou thought. 'Hold on . . .' aloud he asked. "I feel as though I just met you two, but I'll ask anyway. Who are you guys?"

The blond spoke up. "My name's Odd."

"And I'm Aelita." The pink-haired girl replied.

'I thought so.' Ryou thought and said. "I'm Ryou, although I seem to be answering to 'Haseo' in real life too."

"And now that introductions are out of the way, I'll give the short version of events." Odd said. "We landed a bit earlier than expected so we decided to wait in the food court, then Kite got antsy and had to go to the bathroom. I went with him, but when we came out we got caught in a human gridlock . . . We were supposed to meet at the food court, but I guess he got so turned around that he couldn't find it . . ." All of a sudden there was a soft _thud_. "What was that?"

Amelda looked down. "It appears that Ryou fainted. Hey, Ryou get it together." Amelda poked the boy several times. "You ought to be used to this by now: Kite is just within your grasp, and then something jerks him farther out of your reach. All you can do is reach a little bit further."

Ryou sat up. "I suppose . . ."

"Look, just go to the restroom, wash your face and maybe you'll get lucky . . ." the redhead scratched his head. "The airport isn't even that big . . . How in the world could we have missed him?"

"I guess he just has bad luck like that." Odd added. "He looks exactly the same from the neck up. He even has the marks on his face and that bright turquoise hair."

_Thud._

Amelda looked down. "Dude, that floor is nasty."

Ryou disregarded his words. "Why . . . why is this happening to me . . .?"

"Dunno . . ." Amelda took the liberty of scraping French fires out of Ryou's hair. "But I have a feeling that this is the last time you'll ever be asking that question."

"Really?" Ryou asked weakly.

"Yup, but you won't get it lying on the sticky floor of an airport too small even for a scatterbrain like Kite to get lost in."

Ryou unstuck himself from the floor. "Call Kite anything else but that dumbass pet name and I'll kill you." He growled and slouched off to the restrooms.

"That's the spirit!" Amelda gave Ryou the thumbs up.

"Are you sure it's okay to let _him_ wander off too? What if we happened to run into Kite? What'll we tell him?" Aelita asked.

"I have a hunch that they'll find each other well before we find either of them." Amelda waved his hand dismissively. "I'm guessing that's Kite's bag; are there any others?"

"Nope, this is the only one." Odd replied.

"Good, let's get that out to the limo, we can't lose that too."

_**/// Airport Men's Room ///**_

Ryou held his head under the cold water faucet. 'I can't believe this . . . how many more times can these things happen?' he brought his head up and shook the water from his hair. Then he looked into the mirror. 'I look terrible, I can't let Kite see me like this . . . He'll probably scream or think that I'm dying . . ." He brushed the water off of the fur of his jacket and smiled, it did not make the dark half circles under his eyes disappear, but it made him look slightly less 'terrifying.' He took a deep breath. 'All right Ryou! Time to wake up and look for Kite! I'll turn this airport upside down if I have to!"

The moment he opened the door, he heard someone cry "Mommy!" he turned in the direction of the cry. A child was running towards his mother crying with snot running down his nose. 'I guess he got lost too . . .' Ryou though as he watched both parent and child. 'Well, it's nice to know that someone had a happy ending.' Then he noticed that the mother was talking to the one who returned her child. He could not see the person, nor could he hear them, but he did see the mother point in a direction. Distracted, Ryou let his eyes follow her arm:

'She's pointing in the direction of one of the service booths . . . isn't that where the lost and found is?' He cocked an eyebrow. 'I wonder . . .!' He got a glimpse of the person as he darted by. He was wearing a light red turtleneck sweater, faded jeans, and light brown tennis shoes, but other than that, Ryou did not see much else. 'I wonder . . .' He decided to follow him. An unfortunate wave of arriving people passed by, almost blocking Ryou's way, however he managed to maneuver through the crowd and finally get a good look at the back of his head:

". . .?!" He slowly opened his mouth. ". . . Kite . . .?"

The person must have heard him because he had stopped walking. He turned slightly.

"It's you . . . isn't it Kite?" Ryou said louder.

He turned all the way around and blinked, his bright green eyes were reflected in the light pouring from outside. His eyelashes were long and red and there were light red triangular marks on his cheeks. His voice was soft, but loud enough to hear above the noise of the crowds. _". . . Ryou . . .?"_

"That's right." Ryou felt a lump in his throat as he spoke. "We finally meet . . ." Slowly, he held out his arms. "Let's go home."

_**.Innocent Atrocities //End**_

* * *

Yes, that is the end. I'm done, I'm tired, and I think I'm getting sick so I'm going to go to sleep now and I'll see you all in the near future.


End file.
